A Feather in a Storm

Chapter 9

A/N- Did you like my cliffhanger! Heh heh. Okay, to put you out of your misery, the ending to the cliffhanger in the last chapter! This is a long-ish chapter. Wow, 32 reviews! Did not think this story would be so popular. Reply time!

-ScourgeXScarlet- Heh, heh. Cliffhanger torture! Sorry, but I had to do that.

-Lilystem- You do know I won't actually tell you those things, right? Just wait like everyone else! All will come in due time. Ha ha. Suspense is fun. (For me, anyway).And thanks, you're so nice!

-Kkkkkkkkk (Whitestream)-Please don't kill me before I can finish the story! People would be sad they did not get to finish it, and you would be hated.

Help

Stormfeather sliced at the she-cat in front of her. She was fighting the Pride of Rock; the Pride had attacked OneClan before sunrise. The leader of the Pride- or the Head, Eagle Claw, as Whitesky had told them- called for the Pride's retreat. He looked at Thunderstar and OneClan and spoke.

"This battle is not over. Pride of Rock will not give up until you are defeated or give in. Goodbye, we will be back!" Eagle Claw signaled to his Pride to leave. They ran out of the camp.

Dawnmoon was caring for the injured when Thunderstar called for a meeting.

"There was a prophecy about this war. In short, it said we need help from CloudClan to win this war. I will send two cats- Stormfeather and Rainpaw- to them, as I cannot spare any more. Do you agree, Stormfeather, Rainpaw? I know you're young, Rainpaw, but Dawnmoon told me StarClan told her they would be at the side of the traveling cats the entire time."

Stormfeather looked at Rainpaw. He nodded, so she looked back at Thunderstar and nodded, too. Many cats objected to sending an apprentice, none more than Rainpaw's mother, Bluefire.

"You can't send an apprentice with Stormfeather! Rainpaw's too young" He could die!" Bluefire protested loudly. This caused Rainpaw to get angry.

"Stop it, Bluefire! I trust Stormfeather, and StarClan will be with us!" Rainpaw was mad at his mother now. At this, Stormfeather spoke up quietly.

"What he says is true. Just because you do not have trust in me, does not mean I am not a loyal OneClan warrior. Tell me, what have I done to deserve this mistrust?" No cat spoke up. "Exactly. I know what you are thinking, but no one will say it out loud. You mistrust me because of something I could not have prevented. I know you will still not have trust in me, but I had to say this."

Thunderstar declared they would be leaving immediately, so Stormfeather walked up to Everbright. Her sister looked upset.

"Goodbye Storm. Our father would have been proud of how you spoke out for yourself. I will miss you greatly." Everbright sounded very upset to see her sister go away.

"Goodbye, Ever. I will miss you too, but I will see you again. Thanks," Stormfeather said determinedly.

After eating some traveling herbs, Stormfeather and Rainpaw left, and walked through the forest. Rainpaw's smaller stature was an advantage when sneaking through the brambles. They came across the Pride camp, and Stormfeather turned to Rainpaw.

"There they are, the fox-hearts. I hate them."

"Yes, me too. Let's continue." Rainpaw was scared at the sight of the full Pride, all in the same place.

At the edge of the territory, Stormfeather turned. "I'll miss the Clan." Rainpaw looked at her.

"We will be back," Rainpaw said strongly. Stormfeather nodded. "I mean it. We will return."

The pair made it to the twolegplace without detection. Then they saw a dog, tethered to its twoleg with a tendril. It was a big dog, and it looked mean. The dog spotted them and broke free. It chased the pair, scaring Rainpaw so much, he was shaking. Stormfeather ran behind Rainpaw, protecting him from the dog. The dog caught up to them. Stormfeather did not hesitate. She grabbed Rainpaw by the scruff and heaved him up a tree. There was no time for Stormfeather to climb up, so she turned, ready to face the dog. She flattened her ears and unsheathed her claws. Just before the dog leapt on her, the twoleg grabbed its collar, reattached the tendril, and dragged it away.

"Towlegs are good for something, eh?" Rainpaw peeked at her then climbed down. Stormfeather let out a purr of amusement, and they continued on their way.

A little before sunset, Stormfeather suggested they stop.

"Why? We still have daylight left." Rainpaw protested.

"Because this is unfamiliar territory, we need to eat, and honestly, I have no idea of where to go now," Stormfeather admitted. Rainpaw agreed, and they stopped to hunt. It was easy hunting, as the prey was not used to cats hunting there, the prey was fat and slow. They shared a rabbit and settled down in a hollow bramble bush to sleep. Rainpaw fell asleep quickly, but Stormfeather tossed and turned, the scent of the twolegplace tasting unfamiliar on her tongue. She eventually fell under the waves of unconsciousness though.

A tomcat walked up to Stormfeather. He introduced himself as Onestar, first leader of OneClan. Another tom introduced himself as Cloudstar, first leader of CloudClan. They told Stormfeather to "look to the stars and the Starpath would show." Then the cats faded out, leaving Stormfeather alone. It was dark, and Stormfeather could see nothing.

She woke up next to Rainpaw, back in the bush. She left, walking out in the open. She remembered her dream, and looked at the sky. She gasped.

In the rising sunlight, Stormfeather could still see the fading stars. As she watched, they formed a line, pointing her in a direction. This was the Starpath they needed to take to CloudClan. She yelled to Rainpaw, who woke groggily.

"What's wrong?" Rainpaw spoke, his voice full of sleep.

"I know where we need to go!" Stormfeather yelled. This woke Rainpaw up.

"How?" Rainpaw asked.

It would take too long to explain, and Rainpaw could not see the Starpath, so Stormfeather just said she had a sign. They followed the Starpath away from the twolegplace and the bramble bush.

Four sunrises later, they had encountered nothing more than a few fat kittypets and a small white dog. The terrain was starting to get rocky. They had just reached the base of the mountains before they were stopped by a group of cats that looked like a border patrol. Stormfeather finally noticed the scent line they had just crossed.

"Stop. What are you doing on CloudClan territory?" The cat at the head spoke.

They had made it to CloudClan! Stormfeather looked at the patrol. One cat had his eyes on the ground. Another cat nudged him, and he finally looked up, letting Stormfeather see his eyes. He looked right at her, his eyes widening. She gasped.

His white fur, and his eyes-she let out a squeak of surprise- his eyes were lightning-white! This was the prophesied cat from her dreams, the tomcat she could not stop thinking of, the "Lightning Flash" of the prophecy, the cat Everbright and Brambleheart accused her of mooning over! Stormfeather could not speak, rooted to the spot, and he seemed the same.

Rainpaw looked at Stormfeather, then back to the patrol. He spoke up.

"We need CloudClan's help."

A/N- Wow, this is actually the longest chapter I wrote. Do you like it better long like this? Review please! And, to Lilystem: I did not want to say this at the beginning, as it would have given away the chapter, but I had already thought of that, but it's great to know other like that idea too. I wasn't sure if it would work, but I quite like this chapter, actually.