Disclaimer: I don't own Warriors. If I did, I wouldn't be writnng fanfics about it, all my stories would be canon.
Chapter One: Birth of a Disaster
A/N
**IMPORTANT!**(Well, if you like reading coversations between fabulous moi and wonderful moi.)
When reading a conversation between Echo and Thyme, put one set of parantheses between every set the other says. I could've done that for you, but this way it's a puzzle, and I adore puzzles(also, I'm lazy;). Today, Thyme starts!
*Thyme's side of the conversation: {It came to my attention that I need to say that the warriors world (sadly) does not belong to me and all rights belong to the Erin Hunter(s).} {Gah, I have to write this for EVERY story?} {EVERY chapter?} {Can't I just keep it on my profile?} {Why not?} {Then can I...ahem, alter it a bit?}
*Echo's side of the conversation: {You finally noticed? Hey, at least you have our OCs.}{Yeah, you should've done that a long time ago.}{Yep.}{Uh-uh.}{...}{Ask Spiritsong. She's in charge. But me? I'm all for it.}
As for the story! It's an AU, and the characters are MINE! I forbid you to steal them!(Just kidding. But yeah, ask me first. Details on profile.) Let's begin, shall we?
Gorgeous. That was what Crashpaw had thought the first time he'd looked, actually looked, at Swiftpaw.
She'd been his rival for moons. He'd catch a mouse, she'd chase a bigger one. She'd climb a tree, he'd climb a higher one. But one unforgettable day, she'd told him she loved him, and he'd realized he felt the same way. Now she was his mate. They were Swiftshine and Crashstone. And that brought him crashing back to reality.
Fighting to keep calm. It was a difficult kitting, and even with as talented a medicine cat as Cloudfeather, he knew there was only so much a cat could do for a queen, especially one as far gone as Swiftshine. The kits were long overdue, nearly a moon late. It didn't help that Swiftshine had kept up her warrior duties for as long as possible. Neither did the fact that she had gone out on nightly walks quite often while carrying kits. Cloudfeather had actually told Wavepaw to stay out, emphasizing the possibility that it could go horribly wrong.
He couldn't take it anymore. He forced his way through the woven entrance. The first thing he saw was blood.
Cloudfeather looked up, not surprised to see him."Crashstone. I know it's not easy, but you have to stay out," she said, obviously trying to keep calm.
"Never," he said forcefully, not taking his eyes off his mate. Licking her cheek, he whispered, "You can do this. You're the bravest cat I know." He rambled on, hoping with all his might that talking would somehow save her, keep the hopeless look from her eyes.
"Crashstone, please! If you won't stay out, stay away!"
The other queen in the nursery, Mudshine, laid a firm paw on his shoulder, leading him some distance away, to a tiny brown she-kit. She nudged him towards his kit.
It didn't matter, he thought duly. Nothing mattered except for Swiftshine.
After what seemed like seasons, a jet-black tom-kit came out, encased in some kind of sac.
"Nip it," instructed Cloudfeather. "Be careful not to hurt the kit, and lick its fur the wrong way to keep it warm."
He did so, and the tiny tom shivered under the licking.
"One more to go," meowed Cloudfeather. Despite her cheerful tone, the she-cat seemed worried. "This one's not in the right position... I'll have to turn it, "she said to Swiftshine. Placing her paws on her belly, Cloudfeather meowed, "Get Wavepaw. Tell her I need her."
Mudshine disappeared, returning with the black apprentice in a flash.
"See my paws? Place yours in a cross shape from them, and press them like this. Don't stop until I tell you to."Turning to Swiftshine she added, "Once Wavepaw stops, at the very next spasm, push."
"... Now!"
A tiny bundle of fur. A beautiful golden tabby she-kit, the smallest of her litter.
He whisked her up in an instant, lapping at her fur vigorously, ignoring the tom's protests at the sudden loss of warmth. Swiftshine moaned softly, and his attention snapped back to his mate.
"What about Swiftshine?" he demanded of Cloudfeather. "Will she be alright?"
"I don'tknow," she confessed, hovering over the black-and-white she-cat.
"You don't know?" He asked incredulously, his muscles tensing on instinct. Forcing his fur to lie flat, he glared at the fluffy she-cat. He knew it wasn't really her fault, but he couldn't help having to blame some cat.
"Crashstone, it's best that you leave," murmured Mudshine. "You'll only stress out Swiftshine with your presence."
"No,"rasped Swiftshine unexpectedly from her nest. "He must... name his kits." She broke into a fit of coughing.
He hurried to her side. "Save your strength, Swiftshine. You've got to live."
She glared at him. "Name them,"she ordered weakly. "Together, while I'm strong enough."
"Honor her wishes, Crashstone," Cloudfeather said.
He ignored her and turned to the tom-kit. "What about Flickkit?"
"Good," was all she said, turning to the brown tabby. "Snakekit," she said finally. "For Snakefang."
"For Snakefang," he echoed, thinking about his mate's sister, who had died so untimely a death. He couldn't shake the feeling that her sister was doing the same.
"And the last kit?"
He stared at the youngest kit, noting her golden fur. Lionkit, Goldenkit, Marigoldkit,...none of those names seem quite right. Then he knew. "Sun..," he started to say, but was interrupt by its mewling, then turning to reveal... Mudshine gasped. Its paw was horribly twisted, almost all the way around. The fur on her foot was patchy and dark, in sharp contrast to the rest of her paw, which was white, as were the rest of her paws. It seemed to sense all five sets of eyes on her, for it squirmed, whimpered, and resumed her original position, tucking the twisted foot under her tabby fur.
"It must have been caused by the position it was in," Cloudfeather whispered sadly.
Wavepaw let out a wail, then rushed from the den. Cloudfeather followed.
Swiftshine glared at the she-kit with a look of utter loathing, a look Crashstone had never seen before. His heart filled with disgust for the kit, the cat that had likely caused his mate her life. How dare she?
"What about Twistkit?"he asked finally. It wasn't very strong, but it was the best he could do.
"Lastkit," Swiftshine meowed fiercely. "To remind her... that this is her last chance." Then she collapsed.
He let out a wordless yowl of grief, burying his head in his mate's shoulder. He hadn't missed Mudshine's gasp of horror at the kit's name, but he couldn't care less. She deserved it, for killing Swiftshine.
Cloudfeather pushed past him, having just returned. "She's alive," the medicine cat said, her words clipped and terse.
She was alive? He lifted his head, blinking at the fluffy she-cat. Would she let him stay? He couldn't face his Clanmates right then.
Her next words crumbled his hopes. "Crashstone. Leave," she said, her meow booking no argument. He whispered a quick goodbye to Swiftshine, then was whisked out of the den by Mudshine.
The pregnant brown tabby reeled on him the moment they were out. "What are you thinking, giving such a name to your own kit?"she screeched, ignoring the gasps from their Clanmates.
He looked up at the queen with cold eyes. "She deserved it," he said, in a voice that didn't feel like his own. "Swiftshine is probably dead by now...and all for a disabled accident." The last words he spat into her blue eyes.
They widened in shock. "This is not the cat I trained you to be," his former mentor hissed in his ear. "She's your own kit!"
"She is not mine," he responded icily. "Let another claim her; I will not."
"She looks just like Sunwhisker! Please, for her sake," Mudshine pleaded.
"You. Have. NO right to say her name," Crashstone shotback through gritted teeth. His heart ached for his own sister, her playful green eyes and dappled golden pelt, so much like the defected kit's. Maybe the kit was his sister reborn...but no. Sunwhisker wouldn't be reborn with a twisted paw. He wanted to claw himself for even thinking it. But as much as he hated the kit, he couldn't help feeling a sort of affection for her at the same time. "She'd be ashamed of you," the brown tabby told him venomously. She turned her back on him and stalked away, leaving him alone to answer his Clanmates.
"Crashstone. What happened?" Hillstep asked evenly, from where he sat close by. It wasn't a question, and both of them knew it.
"We have three kits," Crashstone growled back. He wasn't in the mood for questions, but he couldn't disobey the deputy.
"And?"
Might as well get it out, he thought. He raised his voice, so every cat could hear. "Their names are Snakekit, Flickkit, and Lastkit. What does it matter? They've killed Swiftshine."he choked out, then ran out of camp, trying to block out the whispers that followed.
A/N
This story is based on RainheartWarrior's Twisted, and I take no credit for any of it, except my OCs. (But really, you should check it out. Twisted is amazing.) Umm...no. I'm not going to have Lastkit go to Twolegplace and become an alley cat, in case you were wondering. I have a different plan for Lastkit. And she's not going to be a medicine cat. Anyways, the characters in this story overlap quite a bit with the ones in Pattering Raindrops, so what I'm going to do is write One Last Chance almost right up to the bit where the cats here and the ones in Pattering Raindrops meet, then proceed with that one for a bit, then flip to Dark Side of the Moon. Pretty hectic. It's going to be one h*ck of a ride. But hey! It's fun!
P.S. I'm not going to give Lastkit a cruel name. No, it's not Lastchance, though I have a feeling Swiftshine would love that name? Hint hint. Actually, I planned to name her Lastflower, for her"blossoming nature" and "strong personality" but decided otherwise. You'll find out later.