Swiftpaw's Omen

Sleepless nights were Swiftpaw's favorite nights. On these nights the birds were silent, but the bugs were singing their own songs, serenading each other with distinctive hums. The gentle rustle of trees in the chilly moonhigh breeze sounded like the whispers of cats long passed and the pale light the almost-half moon casted over the forest cats' camp made the clearing look ghostly. Tonight was such a night. The black and white tom padded slowly into the clearing, his amber eyes glowing with reflected moonlight. The ground was covered by a fresh and thin layer of snow, the first time he'd ever seen any. He laid down by the dwindling fresh-kill pile, eventually turning over onto his back to stare up at the starry sky.

Not a cloud was in sight. The stars looked closer than ever, the background an array of nighttime colors. Deep azure met with clashes of violet and magenta waves that stretched and ran across the sky. Silverpelt was glowing blindingly bright, and his breath was lost. Each star looked like it was dancing, flashing, and twinkling, as if his very ancestors were greeting him. The whisper of the trees grew louder and louder, the calls of the bugs growing quieter and quieter, until he could just barely hear his name being called at the tip of his hearing. Suddenly, a brilliant flash of white streaked across the sky. Swiftpaw's eyes grew wide, his mouth falling agape as he stared on. It had come from behind the trees that surrounded the camp and quickly faded behind more, but while it was at the peak of its flight the only birdcall of the night, shrill and loud, sounded from the forest beyond; it was a hawk's call.

"An omen! A portent! StarClan has sent a sign to me!" Swiftpaw couldn't stop the words from flowing from his mouth. He had scrambled to his feet and yowled it loudly, waking the ThunderClan cats from their slumber and sending sleeping birds in the distance fluttering from their nests. The hawk cried once more before the sound of great wings could be heard flapping as it fled from the cat's noise.

OOC: Cool. Now someone post telling him to shut up.

Spottedfeather jolted awake by the sound of Swiftpaw yowling. He barely heard his words and she rushed out of the nursery, feeling Nightkit already rushing behind her. Flamekit and Adderkit were still in, possibly still sleeping. "Shh, shh, its okay Swiftpaw. Lets quiet down and go back to the medicine den." she cooed to the medicine cat apprentice, using the skills she earned as a queen to shush him to slight calmness. She slightly started to push on his shoulder to bring him closer to the medicine cat den. She quietly directed to another warrior she-cat to check on her kits, while Nightkit was at her side.

"Whats wrong" Nightkit asked the medicine cat apprentice, his dual-colored eyes shining in the dark.

Swiftpaw planted his feet into the frosty ground, skidding a bit on the light layer of snow. "No, no, not yet!" His head whipped side to side. He was looking for someone, someone who should have heard him. Someone who should hear what he had to say. He backed away from the queen and the kit, a strange look in his eyes.

"You stupid fleabag!" Aha! Exactly who he was looking for trudged from her den. Dewstar's fur was ruffled and her ears were plastered to her skull. She was a mixture of grumpiness and anger, and she met him with a heavy cuff to the side of his face. The medicine cat flinched and crouched lowly to the ground. "I don't know what that ShadowClan cat has been telling you," Dewstar spat with venom in her voice, "but we're ThunderClan and we sleep at night. You can yowl your nonsense in the daytime or you can't yowl at all. Unlike you, some cats have important duties to get to early in the morning and are trying to sleep." Her words were scathing and hurtful, a result of his interruption of her sleep. She ignored Spottedfeather and Nightkit because her fury had gotten the best of her- otherwise, she wouldn't have spoken in such a way around a kit. The leader turned to stomp back to her den, but before she took her first pawstep back, Swiftpaw said something that caused her to halt immediately.

"Dewstar, I've received a sign from StarClan, and they tell of great news!"

"What have they told you? Come on, spit it out! I don't have all night!" When Swiftpaw looked hesitantly from Dewstar to Spottedfeather, she gave a small growl. "If it's great news, then they're bound to find out. Just tell me already!"

He dipped his head to her and then spoke. "StarClan sends their sign of blessings. They approve of your leadership, and have sent me an omen: ThunderClan will rise, rise high into the sky, like a hawk riding the wildest of winds. Our ancestors themselves will guide us to victory, however that may be." His frantic voice had grown soft and calm. Dewstar's eyes went wide before a sudden smile curled her muzzle, and she immediately dropped her anger.

"Thank you, Swiftpaw." Her voice was eerily relaxed. "Why don't you take Nightkit back to the nursery and stay with him while I speak with Spottedfeather?" The strange look had disappeared from his eyes and he appeared as his usual self. He dipped his head once more and started walking in the direction of the nursery, flicking his tail at Nightkit in a silent command to follow.

Nightkit hesitated, looking back to his mother. When she told him to go ahead, he followed Swiftpaw back to the nursery.

"Go ahead Nightkit, i'll be there in a second." Spottedfeather murmured to her kit, before turning back to Dewstar. She waited until her kit was out of ear shot before she questioned her leader. "Yes Dewstar?"

"StarClan has sent us an omen, hmm? Then let us accept it fully." Already Dewstar's mind was filling with thoughts. "We have a few scores to settle, and with the approval and blessings of StarClan, we will see them through. Tell me, how long until your kits are six moons?" She began pacing, watching as he large paws sunk through the snow and left pawprints. Her tail flicked anxiously back and forth as she spoke.

"Just in about a few sunrises. And with which clans? Riverclan and Windclan seem to be friendlier toward each other, while they are both against Shadowclan." Spottedfeather mewed to her leader. She didn't doubt her or Swiftpaw at all, but what would the fight be over? She knew they wanted Sunningrocks back, but it might become two clans against them if they tried something.

Her ear twitched. Dewstar stopped her pacing and watched Swiftpaw's tail disappear into the nursery. The last thing he wants to do is fight. He's always been that way. But that's his problem; if he won't help me, then so be it. All he has to do is keep my warriors from being seriously injured. "Good. The sooner, the better. I want these kits to be trained as well as possible; they're obviously very healthy if Swiftpaw yaps on about them the way he does. After that, you'll also be able to return to your duties as deputy, and while Spottedflight has done well, I'd be more relaxed if I had you by my side." She glanced up at the night sky, wondering what Swiftpaw saw when he looked at the stars. To her, they looked like they always did: small, cold, and far, far away. "We'll speak more about this in the morning. It's too late to be planning now."

"Yes Dewstar." she nodded her head at her leader. Not showing emotion to her slightly strange behavior. She had been acting, differently lately, but she couldn't quite put her paw on it. She padded back to the nursery, before smiling and purring a thanks to Swiftpaw. She didn't see most of the point in fighting. She could see it over Sunningrocks, but they needed to make sure of Riverclan and Windclans' relations with each other.