A deadly mistake (Closed)

"Teach me." A brown kit demanded as a large silver tom padded past him. Green eyes rolled as he shook his head.
"No."
"I wanna be a real SkyClan cat, like you." Sedgestrike turned to look at the kit bluntly.
"No."
"Please-" He stopped short as Sedgestrike whirled around to face the small kit who had been following him all morning with this nonsense. He would have thought the kit's parents would have taken the kit away, but no. No instead they had allowed the youngster to bother him. Finally, the tom had enough. He picked up Falconkit by the scruff and stalked out of camp with him. Setting him down on a low branch that extended to the next tree over.
"Fine." He spat, leaving the kit there and bounding ahead. Ready to leap off the tree to save the kit from a fall if he needed to.

It turned out to be unnessecary. The kit was a natural as he leapt and clung to the treebark with strong claws. Sedgestrike felt approval blossom in his chest as he watched the kit, then leapt to the next tree. Leading the kit along to the river before he jumped onto the kit's tree and brought him down to safety. He lead him to a strong willow, with bark that was split and easy to grasp.
"Climb this." He commanded. Falconkit gaped at the tree. It was strange and twisted, but exciting. He had never seen a tree like that before. His amber eyes looked at Sedgestrike eagerly before he scrabbled onto the bark of the tree. His grip scratching and slipping as he slowly managed to get to a smooth curve.

Falconkit felt strong and confident. His claws dug in fiercly to the bark as he tried to wrap his forelegs around the branch. Too late for Sedgestrike to warn him as he realised he wouldn't make it too late. The kit yowled in panic as he fell into the water paws flailing desperately.

The only thing that Swiftflight could focus on was the distinct, piercing sound of a kit wailing to his right, near the river. Flicking his ears to make sure he wasn't somehow hearing things, his mind raced over a trillion questions, and he hadn't even gotten an idea of what might have been happening yet. Shaking his head, he sprinted off in the direction of the squeals. He skidded to a standstill next to Sedgestrike, a both horrified and disgusted look on his face at the realization that he was going to let the kit in front of him die, without a second thought. Taking a look at the currents, he realized that Falconkit, despite his best efforts, was being carried downstream. It would be easy to jump in and grab the kit by the scruff, but getting back to the shore... That would be a stretch. But the tom didn't have time to think. As soon as he jumped into the frigid water, it began to seep through his thick, fluffy white fur, sending a chill up his spine and weighing him down simultaniously.

He made a dash towards the brown kit, and despite not having webbed paws or sleek fur, he made decent progress with the help of the current pushing him along. As soon as he was in reaching distance of Falconkit, he made a sharp movement, latching onto his scruff and holding tight. Now... There was a bigger fish to fry. Swiftflight had no clue whatsoever how he would get this kit back to shore, with the rushing water now working against him instead of with. Pushing the water back using his hind legs, making small progress. His breathing became faster by the second, but he still managed to keep Falconkit's head above the water successfully. He managed to gain a small advantage using his large forepaws, paddling the best he could with as little experience in the water as a frog had flying. As he began to feel his body sinking lower and lower, he thought over his options as carefully as he could, trying to keep calm in a state of panic. He was fairly close to the edge of the river, but not close enough for his paws to reach the bottom. The small kit was shaking in his jaws, likely shivering despite the warm weather that the changing of seasons had brought them. Then he thought back to his oath as a warrior. 'Swiftpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?' This was a promise that he didn't plan to break. It was either his life or the kits,

With a grunt, he tossed the small kit to the dry land. A short-lived sigh of relief passed his lips when he heard the gentle thud of his body making contact with the ground, a much better sound than the muffled cries he had heard before. He could only manage a quick, choppy gasp as water began to splash across his face, drenching him thoroughly. Water had already begun to get into his mouth and nose, even getting in his ears and drowning out any possible sounds that might've come from Sedgestrike or Falconkit. So this was it. He hadn't even gotten a chance to say goodbye to Moonlight, to Tinylegs. It was just like with Crowstar- He was unable to say goodbye before he left. To him, it felt almost as if he was living- well, dying- in slow motion. He thought of Rookpaw, her mangled form on the Thunderpath and how he'd never gotten to see her again. He was abandoning his apprentice, his Clan. But he had saved a life, and to him, it was worth the cost he had to pay.

Only a single tear fell down his face, invisible against the water that soaked every bit of fur on his body. His head was the only thing remaining above water, even with his frantic kicking. "S-Say... Goodbye to... M-M-Moonlight f-for me, Sedgest-" Swiftflight's head was submerged. He didn't try to fight the water, taking the pain that came as it filled his lungs to the brim. Even if he wanted to, he couldn't move a single muscle in his body. He felt a faint, painful buzzing in the back of his head as he inhaled more water. Suddenly, everything went black. The faint buzz quickly turned into a sound only akin to screeching, filling his head along with the darkness the seemingly surrounded him. He wanted to cry out, but when he opened his mouth nothing happened. The pain came in short, yet quick, waves, rushing over him as he scrunched his eyes shut tight. And then... Silence. A cool, calming air surrounded him, and he was suddenly greeted with a plethora of new scents and sensations. When he slowly opened his eyes, he was met with the most beautiful territory he had ever seen, with robins and sparrows flittering around and singing their wonderful song. He gazed in wonder, his attention only diverting when he caught the sight of several faces before him, starry and bright. They were mostly faces he didn't recognize, but there were a couple spread between that he knew. And then it hit him- Swiftflight was in StarClan.

The silver warrior watched Falconkit. The little brown kit flailed desperately in the water as it threatened to pull him down. Small yowls choked out as he constantly spat up water and tried to breathe. Before Sedgestrike put a paw into the water, a large white shape landed into the water beside Falconkit, who yelped and flailed desperately towards the white warrior even as the water pulled him down into it. As his limbs froze and the kit felt himself becoming unable to move properly. Until he was thrown from the water forcefully with a thump. Coughing, and spitting, the kit turned back towards the water, then to Sedgestrike who stood motionless on the bank.

"W-what a-are y-y-you doing... g-go -H-HELP him" Falconkit yowled, his outburst interrupted in coughing fits as he tried to force the water from his lungs. The silver tom watched as Swiftflight was carried down stream. Finally, his paws seemed to work as he lunged towards the water, but his paws barely made it into the river before Swiftflight spoke his final words.

All at once, Sedgestrike knew one crucial thing. He turned to Falconkit and picked him up by the scruff, carrying him back towards the clan and turning his back to the motionless body in the river. Feeling the weight of dissapproval upon him.

He had failed.