Swiftfire's Promise

Chapter 9

Barkfeather

Dry brown and red leaves fell gently from the trees, landing on the ground with a soft crunch.

Swiftfire smiled happily, tomorrow was the day of the Gathering! He hadn't been to one since Stormblaze died and was excited to see if anything had changed. The tabby tom gave a nervous glance towards the leaders den, he had told himself over and over that he would talk to Lionstar about his dreams but had never gathered the courage to do so.

Taking one last bite out of the plump vole he had been eating, Swiftfire got up and stalked towards the leaders den, his heart nearly pounding out of his chest.

"Um, Lionstar?" Swiftfire called into the cave, "Lionstar, there's something I want to talk to you about."

"Of coarse Swiftfire, come in," was the reply. The ginger and white tabby tom entered the large cave, finding Lionstar in the midst of eating a thrush.

His golden fur was thick and glossy, but Swiftfire noticed a tiredness behind the leaders eyes.

"What did you want to talk about," he asked, heaving himself to his paws. Swiftfire padded over and scuffled his paws, feeling like his stomach was in his throat. The last thing Swiftfire wanted to do was get his father kicked out of ThunderClan, or worse.

He sighed and opened his mouth, forcing the words out, "I-I haven't been completely honest with you," he said. Lionstar only nodded, urging the warrior to continue, "I witnessed a meeting, and I recognized the cats that where there..." Swiftfire's meow trailed off.

Lionstar's eyebrows shot up but he flicked his tail to get the young tom to continue.

"They said that they were planning something. Something big, and where recruiting clan cats to carry on with the plan," Swiftfire glanced at Lionstar, who was patiently waiting for him to mention any names, "... Grayfang," Swiftfire blurted out, "they had recruited Grayfang and.... And Foxear."

Lionstar's hackles began to rise and his eyes widened in shock, "Grayfang and Foxear? Are you sure?" He asked. The warrior before him only nodded.

"Will you... Will you banish them?" Swiftfire asked, his voice barely a whisper.

Lionstar shook his head, "no. No. I have grown to know they two as loyal warriors, and I'm sure they will prove their loyalty when the time comes."

Swiftfire nodded, thinking back to when he dreamt of Berrystar. The cream-colored leader had said something similar to that.

"I thought so," he meowed. At that moment, Lionstar shook his head, "if they are planning something, I'm going to have to tell the clan and the other clans. I'll make an announcement now."

Swiftfire nodded and left. Soon, Brightwillow was by his side, fur brushing against Swiftfire's, "what's wrong?" She purred.

Swiftfire looked at her grimly, "you'll see," he meowed.

Soon enough, Lionstar appeared up on the High Rock, "all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather here, beneath the High Rock."

Soon, cats where crowding beneath the large stone, whispering about what the meeting could be about. Brightwillow shot a curious glance at Swiftfire as she joined the crowd but said nothing.

"There has been something happening that you all should no about," he called below to the curious cats. They exchanged glances at Lionstar began. He told them everything, everything except the names of the two cats he found out had been meeting with Hawk and Stone.

When he finished, cats where exchanging scared glances until a cat called out, "what are we going to do?" Lionstar looked at his clan, his gaze calm.

"I will send one patrol to tell the other clans, everybody needs to know if something is happening. It will be Barkfeather, Sorrelheart, Swiftfire, and I," Lionstar finished, Swiftfire pretended not to notice as cats gave him curious glances and whispered his name.

"We will leave after we eat," Lionstar finished. Swiftfire hesitantly nodded and padded to the fresh-kill pile, selecting a small mouse. Brightwillow came over, worry creased on her face.

"W-Why were you picked," his mate shuddered in his ear.

Swiftfire looked at her, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but Berrystar came to me in a dream and explained it to me after I witnessed something," he explained, his eyes straying from her bright blue ones as he finished the sentence.

Brightwillow nodded, getting the hint that he didn't want to talk about it and layer down. Swiftfire took a bite out if his prey and slid it over to his mate, offering to share it.

Brightwillow hesitated before taking a bite out of the prey and Swiftfire noticed that something else was occupying her mind.

Swiftfire licked her ear, "what's wrong," he meowed, "it's not me, is it?"

Brightwillow shook her head, "no, I'm sorry. It's just that, I'm worried about Snowfeather. She hasn't been herself lately and, well, I think I know why." Swiftfire tilted his head, urging her to continue. Brightwillow looked at them, sadness layered in her eyes.

"Swiftfire, I-I think she's expecting kits," Swiftfire stiffened.

"Stormblaze's?" He meowed and the she-cat nodded.

Swiftfire was shocked, not knowing what to say, "is that- is that not good?" He muttered.

Brightwillow shrugged, "no, it's great. But she just always has wanted to raise kits, with her whole family," Brightwillow's voice dropped to a whisper.

Swiftfire nuzzled her gently, "I'm sure Snowfeather will be happy with her kits," he purred.

Lionstar came over to the two cats, "Swiftfire, we must go now," he meowed. The ginger and white tabby nodded and pushed the rest of his mouse over to Brightwillow, who licked his ear.

Swiftfire looked at Lionstar, Barkfeather, and Sorrelheart. "Where are we going first?" He meowed.

Lionstar blinked looking into the forest, "ShadowClan. First we will be going to ShadowClan."