Destinyless - Chapter 4

Chapter 4 - A Worthy Warrior

A few nights later, the WindClan cats march towards the island. The full moon shines clearly in the cold night sky, not one cloud dares to be seen. Swiftpaw walks with Poppypaw and Stonepaw, happy to go to the gathering.

“What are you thinking about?” Stonepaw meows, hearing Swiftpaw purring to herself.

“The fact that Holeshadow and Lusterfur are warriors.”

“Well, they are older than us. And there are more kits on the way. We need more warriors to train them.”

“And it won’t be long until we become warriors,” Poppypaw meows proudly.

Swiftpaw and Stonepaw purr in confidence. However, another thought crawled into her mind. After returning to camp after finding the ThunderClan kits, Redstar forced her into tedious apprentice duties for the past few days and wishes it to end.

The warriors cross the tree bridge with ease and arrive to the clearing. Swiftpaw, Stonepaw, and Poppypaw gasp. They never have seen the neutral grounds of the island. It was a peaceful clearing, filled with the moonlight. Five stones stand in a silvery glow, giving the illusion of a star.

“Looks like, we are the first ones here. Apprentices, please be patient. And remember what you were briefed about,” Shiversoul meows.

Swiftpaw, Stonepaw, and Poppypaw acknowledge his words. Redstar told them not to mention the incident with Birdstar’s kits to any other clan.
It was a while before another clan came: RiverClan. Swiftpaw smelled the water and fish on their pelts. They looked well fed and kept, a trait for RiverClan. She has heard stories about them stealing prey from two-legs who carelessly left their prey unguarded. Next came ThunderClan. She didn’t see Thornpatch, Wildpaw, Bramblepaw, or Brownwing among them. She did see Yellowclaw and he looks grumpy. However, there was Thunderpaw.

“Swiftpaw!” Thunderpaw called and rushed up to her.

“Th-Thunderpaw! How have you been?”

“Great! Those kits have never stopped gossiping about their adventure. How have you been?”

However, Stonepaw saw Thunderpaw and rushed towards him, growling, “You! You hurt Swiftpaw!”

Thunderpaw was taken aback. Swiftpaw had to intervene, “Quiet Stonepaw! There is no reason to be aggressive!”

Stonepaw growls fiercely, refusing to back down.

“I’m sorry for what I did to her. I even asked if she was fine. I had a different thought when I saw her with the kits. How would I have known that she was protecting them?” Thunderpaw gently meows.

Stonepaw’s fur still stayed bristled.

“Stonepaw, you can calm down,” Poppypaw meows, approaching them.

Stonepaw glances between Poppypaw, Swiftpaw, and Thunderpaw. He growls and walks away, supposedly to find Shiversoul. Unknown to them, Thunderpaw’s claws were unsheathed.

“Is he your mate?”

“No!” Swiftpaw snaps quickly. What reason do I have for thinking about kits?

Thunderpaw purrs in amusement, “Sorry. I shouldn’t have asked.”

“Thunderpaw huh?” Poppypaw raises a brow. “How did you get a sacred name as such?”

“I was born just before a storm, nothing but thunder roared over the sky. Sadly, my litter mates didn’t last the night. I was told that we were born early for kits. Somehow, I survived and my mother gave me that name for luck while my litter mates passed on: Showerkit and Stormkit.”

“I’m sorry,” Swiftpaw and Poppypaw meowed in unison.

“Don’t be. I know they are being taken care of in StarClan.” Thunderpaw gazes up to the starry sky. “Strange, no clouds. I would’ve thought that there might been one by know...”

Swiftpaw looks up to the sky and agrees to herself. She didn’t want to admit her clan mate’s poor actions. He could’ve ended the gathering early.

“Well, come on then, I’m not the only apprentice that came tonight!” Thunderpaw purrs.

He rushes over to a spot in the clearing where two other apprentices were sitting.

“This is where we usually sit.”

The two other apprentices turn to Thunderpaw and the two she-cats.
One of them gasps, “Swiftpaw?”

Swiftpaw studies the tabby apprentice and joy began to fill her heart, “Bramblepaw!”

The two siblings butted heads and purr in delight.

“It’s been so long. How is the forest?”

“Not too bad. I feel very comfortable under the trees. What about you with WindClan?”

“Fine, nothing to boast about.”

Bramblepaw turns his head to the other apprentice, “Wildpaw! Guess who it is!”

Swiftpaw looks to Wildpaw in excitement; however, the she-cat gives a glare, “Sure. Hi Swiftpaw.”

Swiftpaw is shocked to hear such a tone from her.

“Please don’t take offense from her. She’s been cranky for a while.”

“Maybe there’s a thorn up her tail end,” Thunderpaw cheekily purrs.
Wildpaw only hisses and keeps her back to them.

Then a few more apprentices approach from the RiverClan side.

“Ah! Hopepaw and Shinepaw!”

The two fawn colored she-cats dipped their heads respectably.

Hopepaw meows, nervously, “H-Hello Thunderpaw. I-I see we get to meet the other Wh-WindClan apprentices.”

“I’m Poppypaw.”

“I’m Swiftpaw.”

“It’s a pleasure,” Shinepaw purrs.

“You two look a lot like the RiverClan leader,” Swiftpaw cocks her head.

The two she-cats giggle.

“Why yes, Morningstar sired us,” Shinepaw meows.

“Join the club!” Poppypaw purrs. “Redstar is my father.”

A loud yowl grabs the clan cats’ attention to the entrance. SkyClan has arrived. The cats come trotting in importantly. Their legs were built strongly and long tails glide in the air.

“SkyClan. That calico there is Hazestar. With his deputy Treeleap,” Thunderpaw whispers to Swiftpaw.

In a haste, three more apprentices join the rest of them.

“Well, well, isn’t it Pinepaw, Needlepaw and Breezepaw.”

The first black cat hisses, “You better hold your tongue, Shinepaw! I’m not in any mood with your attitude!”

“Then you both can sit with our mentors instead like the other WindClan apprentice,” Wildpaw growls.

“Whoa. What happened?” the second black apprentice meows.

“Well, you can say that he had a grudge against me, Breezepaw,” Thunderpaw shrugs.

The four leaders gathered on top of the stones and called the meeting to begin.

“WindClan shall go first. They were here first,” Birdstar meows.

Redstar dipped his head respectfully, “Thank you, Birdstar. WindClan has had a fair Leaf-Fall. Prey hasn’t run scarce yet. I also appointed two  new warriors: Lusterfur and Holeshadow. However, they were unable to come to the Gathering tonight.”

Poppypaw chuckles under her breath while Thunderpaw looks to Swiftpaw, confused.

“Holeshadow and Lusterfur were caught bullying another cat so they lost the chance to come to the gathering.”

Thunderpaw slowly blinks, understanding the situation; however, it never came to mind that the cat who was being bullied was Swiftpaw.

“Such a shame they couldn’t come, Redstar. By the tone of your voice, they sound like poor warriors,” the fawn RiverClan leader oozes.

Redstar growls, “I’ll be the judge of my warriors, Morningstar. Take your turn.”

“I shall,” Morningstar chirps. “RiverClan has endless prey thanks to those mouse-brained two-legs. Also, there have been sightings of rouges in the area.”

“Yes, we’ve caught scent of them as well,” Hazestar meows.

“Do you think they pose a threat?” Birdstar cocks her head.

“Not sure. The scent has been closer to the two-leg paths,” Morningstar replies.

Swiftpaw glances around to see some of the warriors looking restless. Maybe the scent I picked up a moon ago was them.

“Is there anything else you need to say, Morningstar?” Redstar twitches his tail impatiently.

“No. Bridstar, you go ahead.”

“Thank you, Morningstar. ThunderClan is preparing for Leaf-Bare. We’ve have discovered bones on the SkyClan border-“

“That was not us!” Hazestar hisses.

“You sure it was the rouges, Hazestar?” Bridstar’s voice grew stern.

“I’m sure of it!”

“Very well then. We will be making sure that ALL cats are aware of the border.”

Hazestar growls, “I swear to you, it’s not SkyClan.”

“Take your turn, Hazestar,” Morningstar growls.

“Fine. SkyClan has also found evidence of the rouges in our territory. We will also making stronger borders as well,” he glares over to Birdstar.

“SkyClan has three new apprentices and two new warriors, Eagletalon and Northbreeze.”

“If we are finished, shall we go?”

“Yes, I have nothing else to report,” Birdstar meows sternly, glaring over to Hazestar then Yellowclaw.

“I have nothing else, either,” Hazestar growls, returning Birdstar’s glare.

“Nither do I, Morningstar,” Redstar meows.

“Very well then, this gathering is over. But word of advice, those rouges are real and are out there. Watch your borders.”

Morningstar turns and jumps down, calling his clan to follow them.

“Well, it’s good to meet you guys. See yah!” Shinepaw purrs.

Hazestar follows suit and calls his clan. The three black apprentices rush off to join them. Then Birdstar and Redstar call their clans in unison.

“Swiftpaw.”

Swiftpaw turns to see Birdstar approaching her, “I want to thank you again for saving my kits. If I had the authority, I would’ve given you your warrior name.”

“Th-Thank you Birdstar.”

The queen purrs as she leads away with ThunderClan.

“Bye Swiftpaw!” Thunderpaw calls out.

Swiftpaw was about to reply but she saw the fierce gaze from Yellowclaw and held her tongue.

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A day has passed since the gathering. Shiversoul and Moonwhisker took Swiftpaw, Stonepaw, and Poppypaw to the training ground to practice their combat skills.

“If there are really rouges hunting along our borders, we need to fight them off and remind them to not hunt on our territory,” Shiversoul meows.

“Moonwhisker, you shall spar with Poppypaw. Stonepaw, you shall spar with Swiftpaw.”

Swiftpaw and Stonepaw ready themselves for their training. Swiftpaw charges in first, quick and fast. Stonepaw prepares himself; however, he hesitates and lets Swiftpaw knock him over onto his back.

“Stonepaw! If that was a rival warrior, you would’ve been killed!” Shiversoul growls. “Start again! Stonepaw, you make the first move this time.”

Stonepaw nods slightly and Swiftpaw lets him back up and takes her position again. Stonepaw charges at her, surprising Swiftpaw for she wasn’t ready. She quickly jumps back, away from Stonepaw so she can coordinate herself. Stonepaw had to stop quickly but Swiftpaw was still too fast and pounces into him again, pinning him down. Shiversoul grew annoyed, “Enough! Stonepaw, with me!”

Swiftpaw watches the two toms disappear into the undergrowth, curious about what Shiversoul has to say. But, she decided not to follow them. She is in enough trouble as it is. She decides to continue training with Poppypaw and Moonwhisker, who offered her to spar with them.

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“What is wrong with you?” Shiversoul growls.

Stonepaw shuffles his paws, not replying.

“I know you are thinking of your answer. Say it.”

“Its-its…”

“It’s what?”

“I don’t want to hurt her.”

Shiversoul’s eyes lightened, “You are just mock fighting. No one is going to be hurt as long as you keep your claws sheathed.”

“No, not in that way.”

“What do you mean?”

“I angered her at the gathering, when I approached Thunderpaw. I don’t think that she’ll ever trust me again.”

Shiversoul sighs uncomfortably, “Listen Stonepaw. You are a little young to worry over something like this. You are thinking about it too much.”
“But – What if she would never talk to me again?”

“I’m too old to worry about such anymore. Just ask her the next time when you two are alone.”

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It was past sun high and Swiftpaw was resting in the clearing, catching as many rays of sun as she can. She remembers Stonepaw’s expression when he came back with Shiversoul. He was upset about something but she didn’t notice until now. Then she remembers Thunderpaw’s comment about Stonepaw: “Is he your mate?” She shakes her head. Stonepaw…couldn’t be falling in love with me…would he? She hears the kits mew and squeal from the nursery, shattering her train of thought. It won’t be long until they are made apprentices. She glances up to the sky to see a mixture of blue and white. But she saw a shadow fly across the clouds, a large bird. The kits ran right out of the nursery into the clearing. They chase each other around, pouncing on each other, calling one the “mouse.” But then, trouble. The shadow Swiftpaw saw has dive towards the kits. In a few seconds, a large black hawk swooped down and targets for the kits. The kits scream in terror as the bird’s talons reach for one of them. Without a second thought, Swiftpaw rushes over, pouncing straight onto it. The hawk screeches in surprise and it tries to take off. The queens rush out, calling for their kits to come to them. The warriors Tumblewind, Moonwhisker, and Stonepaw with Poppypaw rush out from their dens and help Swiftpaw to bring it down. The hawk screams in agony as Moonwhisker goes for its neck and snaps it. The bird twitches until it was still. Swiftpaw spats out feathers and looks around and sees the clan enter the clearing, with the looks of bewilderment.

“Swiftpaw…thank you.” The silver queen meows with her kits shaking, snuggling closer to her belly.

Other cats approach her, following the queen’s example, praising her.

“That was amazing, Swiftpaw!” a black and white queen meows.

“I used to do that when I was a warrior!” a white elder purrs proudly.

“I can’t believe it,” Tumblewind stutters. “You are fast!”

Right on que, Redstar comes back with his patrol and sees the hawk, “What happened? Where is Lusterfur?”

“I can’t speak for Lusterfur since she isn’t here yet but I can say that it was Swiftpaw who rushed in first to take it down,” Tumblewind meows as he approached Redstar. Redstar was surprised to hear such words from him, praising her.

“She was fast as the hawk’s talons!” a black she-cat elder calls out.

“She was fierce as a TigerClan warrior!” the black and white queen replied.

“She was brave as a LionClan warrior!” Poppypaw sings out.

Redstar looks at his happy clan, utterly confused. Redstar looks towards Swiftpaw who came forward, “I didn’t do it alone. Stonepaw, Poppypaw, Tumblewind and Moonwhisker helped me to take it down.”

Redstar purrs, “Of course, it takes a warrior to take one down. Is that right Whitetalon?”

The proud elder purrs in delight, “Of course.”

“Lusterfur has lots of explaining to do. She was on Sky Duty,” the worried silver queen growls.

“I’ll see to it. Stormheart, go and find Lusterfur.”

The big grey tom, who was on border patrol with Redstar, nods and rushes out.

“Well, Stonepaw, Poppypaw, bring the hawk to the high rock. Everyone shall see what our fine warriors brought down and we’ll have a feast tonight!”
Stonepaw and Poppypaw meow in delight and race off to move the bird to the high rock. Redstar walks over to high rock and jumps into it and calls out to his clan, “May all who runs on the moor come forward for this meeting. The cats quickly gathered around.

“Today, a brave apprentice took the initiative to protect her clan from a dangerous threat: this hawk that attacked our kits. Swiftpaw, come forward.”
Swiftpaw walks forward and stands proudly in front of high rock.

“Swiftpaw, you have shown not just patience, but also courage, compassion and loyalty to your clan. You swear to uphold the warrior code and your loyalty to WindClan?”

Swiftpaw feels as if the dirt under has been removed from under her paws, her body struggles to keep still under the sudden weight, “I do!”

“Then by the power vested in me, I shall give you your warrior name. From this day forward, you shall be known as Swifttalon. In honor of slaying the hawk and defeating it’s powerful talons. I welcome you as a full warrior of WindClan!”

The clan roars into cheers, chanting her warrior name. Whitetalon, the elder, approaches her, “I received my name by killing a hawk. But there was one other cat that has earned their name the same way. I know you don’t look too fondly to Brownwing but you are a lot like her. You will be a fine warrior for WindClan.”

Swifttalon wasn’t too happy to hear both her mother’s name and being compared to her. But, she took Whitetalon’s compliment, for she knew better. She happens to take a glance towards the camp entrance to see Lusterfur with Stormheart and Holeshadow. Her face is burning with hatred and jealousy with Holeshadow not daring to make eye contact with any other cat.

Redstar beckons the three cats to the clearing, “Lusterfur! What is your excuse for this?” Redstar flicked his tail towards the hawk. The other cats grew silent, waiting for her response.

Lusterfur looked to the hawk and back to Swifttalon, realizing fully what happened, but she dared not to speak.

“Holeshadow! Speak!”

The black tom lowers his head, refusing to say a word. The two warriors weren’t expecting the whole clan to suddenly turn against them like this.
“I found these two far from the look-out point. They were alone,” Stormheart growls.

The clan gasps and murmur among themselves.

They must have…yes. They always have been so close. Lusterfur…you are now the foolish one.

“You two are aware what happens when you fail to do what is instructed to do?”

The two stay quiet.

“Lusterfur. You will lose your warrior status.”

Lusterfur’s head snapped up, “What?!”

“So, I finally got a word out of you. You were responsible for Sky Duty, to watch for hawks and other birds that pose a threat to the clan – your clan! And you have failed them. If Swifttalon did act the way she did, we would’ve lost a kit today.”

Lusterfur lowers her gaze.

“You will be doing apprentice duties until I believe you had enough. Tumblewind, you will see to that.”

The brown warrior dips his head, looking angrily at her.

“Holeshadow, you will be helping her with this task.”

Holeshadow dared not to respond.

“Let’s hope that this teaches a lesson to you both. This meeting is over.”

Redstar returns from high rock and approaches Swifttalon, “Tonight, you shall hold a vigil and guard camp.”

Swifttalon briskly nodded. I’m a warrior, a warrior of WindClan. I have achieved my dream.