Swiftpaw's Jealousy

Prologue

Author’s Note - The prologue is in Swiftpaw’s point of view. I’ll try to start drawing Swiftpaw soon. I hope you like :)

 

Help me Swiftpaw! Her voice echoed in his head over and over. He had brought her into this. He would never forgive himself if Brightpaw died. It would be all his fault. There was nothing he could do at the time, though. Swiftpaw struggled once again under the iron grip of the slobbering dog pinning him down. He strained his neck, trying to see Brightpaw. Was she dead already? His anger gave him enough strength to slip away from the dog, and briefly catch a glimpse of Brightpaw safely in a tree, well away from the other dog’s reach, until the dog caught up to him again. Pain seared through his haunches as the dog bit into his back foot.

Good. The relief that had seeped into him quickly disappeared as his amber eyes rested on the bright red flesh where her eye should have been. He opened his jaws to scream, but no sound came out. Regret filled him again. He mentally slapped himself. Why, why, why had he dragged Brightpaw into this? Even waiting an eternity for warrior-ship (Is that even a word? CX) would be better than seeing Brightpaw blinded for life.

Anger crashed down on him. He let out a yowl that Windclan could’ve heard as he leapt up from underneath huge, brown paws and slashed as hard as he could across the brute’s face, leaving a gash over the dog’s eye. His moment of victory was cut off by a screech of agony. He didn’t know if the screech belonged to him or not, but he was engulfed in darkness and he was no more.

***

When his eyes flickered open again, he was in a mossy clearing surrounded by draping willow leaves. He was greeted by a low rumbling.

“Huh?! What?” Swiftpaw leapt to his feet, “Brightpaw! I’m coming!” Swiftpaw yowled.

“Brightpaw is fine.” A dark voice huffed, “You’re dead.”

“W-w-what? I’m dead?” Swiftpaw turned to the dark figure, “Let me see her! Let me see Brightpaw!”

“Of course.” The cat smiled cruelly, “Anything you want.” The cat flicked his tail and Swiftpaw looked downwards at his paws to find a puddle by his feet. As he gazed into it, Brightpaw was in the Thunderclan camp surrounded by Yellowfang and Cloudtail, who seemed suspiciously close to her. The rest of the clan was farther back, avoiding her gaze. Brightpaw was nestled in a patch of moss lined with pigeon feathers. She flinched uncomfortably and wailed.

“I’ll never be the same! My face! My face!”

“You’re still beautiful to me.” Cloudtail announced, licking her ear soothingly. The arrogance that usually laced his voice was gone. Grr… Now that he had died, Cloudtail had Brightpaw all to himself. Swiftpaw lashed his tail with jealousy. If I were alive… He thought.

“Ahh, young one. I can help you. I will help you, and Brightpaw will be your’s again.” The shadowy figure purred. Swiftpaw hesitated.

“Revenge…” Swiftpaw murmured, as if testing out the word, “Oh yes. Cloudtail, watch out…”

“No! Don’t Swiftpaw. Jealousy will only lead to sadness. I have learned first-paw. Brokenstar, leave now.” A smooth voice interrupted, with a hint of urgency.

“Brokenstar?!” Swiftpaw’s amber eyes widened.

“Yes, that is me.” Cold malice glinted in his amber eyes as he stepped out of the shadows. Swiftpaw caught a quick glimpse of his matted, brown fur before shadows enveloped him once again.

“Come Swiftpaw. You’ve earned your warrior name.” The other Starclan cat urged. Stars danced in her tortoiseshell fur. Her eyes showed greif. Swiftpaw’s eyes flickered with joy, and then quickly narrowed with suspicion.

“Who are you?” Swiftpaw’s voice wavered.

“Spottedleaf, dear.” The tortoiseshell’s voice softened.

“But Cloudtail.” His expression hardened, “Cloudtail, he took Brightpaw away from me.”

“She will always remember you as the brave warrior who saved her life, “Spottedleaf promised, “I will make sure of that. Now come.” Swiftpaw reluctantly followed Spottedleaf into the starry forest, taking one more glance behind him.

Author’s Closing Note - Did you like it? Was it okay? Was Yellowfang medicine cat when Swiftpaw died? And seriously, is warriorship a word…? Oops. Sorry for showering you with questions ^^ Anyways, I’ll post soon, hopefully. I doubt that’s long enough… Whatever. Thanks for reading!