Hey all! I forgot to add this little note in the first chapter, but the cutoff after Rainpaw faints, when there's no action or anything, that's a short little subscene to fill in the plot, since I didn't type up a prologue. So, think of the first chapter of a prologue, too! Anyways, I hope you enjoy the second chapter!

Chapter 2: Whispering Winds

Three dawns passed before Rainpaw fianlly awoke. At first, she was startled at the scent of SandClan that enveloped her, and she thought that she had been trapped on their territory, but calmed down when she saw Paintedsky pad into the den. A bundle of herbs dangled from his mouth, and the scents of the forest, which Rainpaw had not smelled for a long time, floated into the room as the medicine cat passed her. After a moment, Paintedsky froze. Dropping his herbs, he whipped around and stared at Rainpaw, his eyes wide with astonishment.

"But...you're supposed to be...I thought I gave you deathberries, and..."

"D...deathberries?" Rainpaw stammered in disbelief. "You gave me deathberries?"

"Um...well, you see, I..." Paintedsky trailed off, his tail drooping, his eyes narrowing. Flicking his ear, he snarled, "Yes. I fed you deathberries. You need to die. StarClan sent me a prophecy. 'The rain will fall' it said. I had to kill you! The prophecy will be ruined unless you die!"

"I'm not going to die!" Rainpaw hissed. "Where's Savannahstorm?"

"Back at SmolderingClan's camp, explaining to Aspenstar why you two have been gone for three dawns. She won't be back for a while now. I hear there's rogues lurking near your territory." Paintedsky purred with amusement. "Your Clan will never survive. You see, the rogues and I are closely acquainted, and I promised them SmolderingClan's territory once they destroy you, and rights to the whole river."

"You can't do that!" Rainpaw cried, jerking back in shock. "I'm going to warn Aspenstar right away!" The she-cat turned and raced out of camp on that note. Nobody bothered to stop her. Instead, the cats of SandClan stared at her through narrowed eyes. Once she was safely out of the territory, she came upon a tall, thick tree that had fallen over the river. Rainpaw leapt up onto the log and raced across it, her claws gripping the moss that grew on either side. Just ahead, the scent of crowfood drifted toward her, coming from SmolderingClan's territory.

"It's the chosen one!" A voice murmured.

"She's too young. We should have chosen another cat. Perhaps Skypaw." Another voice replied.

"The prophecy once told cannot be changed." A third voice sounded. Rainpaw looked up in fright. The trees bent, their leaves waving back and forth as the wind tugged at them.

"I just don't think it's fair that Wolfstar couldn't have set the prophecy around SandClan."

"Wolfstar is the leader of SmolderingClan, not SandClan. And besides, you know that your medicine cat is betraying his Clan by hiring thoe rogues to take down Wolfstar's Clan."

Rainpaw looked around her. The voices blended together and enveloped her, and she could see nothing. She began to race blindly along the log, desperate to reacht he other edge of the bank, but it was too late. The next moment, the she-cat was spiraling down into blackness. "Help!" she cried, her paws flailing through the air.

"Do not fear," a calm, smooth voice answered. "We are here to help you."

"Who are you?" Rainpaw asked, still falling through the dark.

"We are the spirits of StarClan, and we must show you something." The voice replied. Suddenly, a large slit opened up in the blackness, revealing a burst of light. Rainpaw landed on her paws and glanced around her. She was in the middle of SmolderingClan camp. Or, at least, it carried the scent of SmolderingClan.

"Where am I?" the she-cat mewed. She looked around and saw cats begin to gather in the center of the clearing. Some of them brushed right past Rainpaw, while others walked right through her.

"You are in the camp of ThunderClan. These are your ancestors."

"I was born into a different Clan?"

"No. SmolderingClan was called ThunderClan many moons before you were born. You are in the camp right now. Around this time a prophecy was sent to me. I am Shatteredstar, the fifth cat who had been named leader that season. Many cats were dying, and for a while, I had not understood. Then one night, I was sent a dream by Vaporstar, the she-cat who had ruled ThunderClan when I was just a kit. She told me, 'The rain will fall, darkness will become day, and the two shall forever be lost.' After that, she vanished. For the next several moons, she-cats had been naming their kits Rainkit, in hopes that they would be the roots of a major prophecy, but every kit who was given that name died before they were two moons old. Then, I recieved a dream once again. Vaporstar told me that I was to name my sister's kit Sparkkit, for he would be the one whose kit would be the roots of the prophecy." Shatteredstar sighed. "Sadly, my sister refused to naem any of her kits Sparkkit, and the prophecy was soon forgotten. Then, many moons later, Wolfstar, the first leader of the newly named SmolderingClan, sent a dream to the SandClan medicine cat, telling him thta the prophecy was restored."

"Wolfstar sent a SmoldringClan prophecy to Paintedsky?" Rainpaw asked, tipping her head to one side.

"Yes," Shatteredstar replied. "Now, look to the Highrock."

Rainpaw looked. She saw a black tom sitting atop the Highrock. His amber eyes glowered in the light of the setting sun. "Cats of ThunderClan!" he called out. "I, Shatteredstar, have recieved a prophecy from the great Vaporstar!" Several cats gasped, and a small brown tom, supposedly an apprentice, backed up slightly, his eyes wide with horror. "She has given me this command: 'Tell your cats, the rain will fall, darkness will become day, and the two shall forever be lost.'"

"What rain?" An elderly she-cat cried out. "This is greenleaf! There is no rain!"

"And it's practically always sunny!" Another cat called.

"This is the message Vaporstar has given me," Shatteredstar replied. "A prophecy has come, for the first time in many moons. Perhaps we will finally be saved."

The camp was then enveloped in darkness once again, and the cats disappeared. Shatteredstar's voice sounded again. "Go, Rainpaw. You are safely in camp now. Do what you were born to do. Fulfill the prophecy."

Rainpaw awoke. She was back in camp, inside the medicine den. Crystalpool stood over her. "You really shouldn't go flinging yourself into the river, you know." Her voice was stern, but gentle. "Luckily for you, Skypaw was there to rescue you. No damage seems to have been done, but I'd like for you to stay here for a few days in case you develop a chill."

"Oh, Crystalpool!" Rainpaw cried. "It was just the most amazing thing! Shatteredstar came to me and I went back in time! I saw the ThunderClan camp, Crystalpool! I heard the prophecy, and it's been restored! And I'm the one who will lead us to peace!"

"Shush, Rainpaw, darling." Crystalpool hissed sharply.. "No more of this nonsense. ThunderClan is gone now, and we will never be restored. We are now SmolderingClan."

"Do you know why we're not ThunderClan anymore?" Rainpaw asked, sitting up.

"No. Now lie down and get some rest."

"But I can't rest! I'm the center of a major prophecy! What if the time comes, and I'm not around to defend our Clan? I need to go fight!"

"Shush, Rainpaw! There is no prophecy, we are not going to fight, and there most certainly never will be a ThunderClan!" Crystalpool was practically screeching now, so Rainpaw lay back down and closed her eyes, though she kept her ears angled forward, in case Crystalpool said anything that was of significant importance.

"Hmmph. Prophecy," the medicine cat murmured. "ThunderClan. War. All nonsense."

After a long time of listening to Crystalpool's useless mumbling, Rainpaw eventaully drifted off to sleep.