I'm just going to say this now. This is definitely my favorite and best chapter as of yet. Stormpaw is a bit complicated to write about just because of his powers. And I hope you liked them. I'm debating whether or not I should make a list of their powers and markings just for the sake of this story. Anyways, thanks ilfbehwh for reviewing!

Chapter 8

Stormpaw watched as Mistystar crouched over a stream. Her sleek gray-blue pelt had a healthy sheen as she waited for a fish to come. Three days had passed since Stormpaw became an apprentice. Since those three days, he had discovered that Willowshine was harboring a secret. Apparently the medicine cat had been keeping the fact that the swirling mark on his paw meant more than he realized.

Willowshine had warned Mistystar that there was power within Stormpaw. A power that could be used for good or evil. Now Stormpaw knew that was why Mistystar had chosen to mentor him. She didn't want any mentor to take advantage of his newly found power.

The fish that Mistystar was watching had been swimming away from them for a while now. Stormpaw was growing bored of waiting. He wondered if Mistystar would mind him disappearing for a couple of moments. He glanced down at the shimmering water as it swept by. Pebbles and rocks dotted the sandy ground beneath. Moss flowed with the stream. The water looked as if it was calling him.

The dark gray apprentice sighed. He desperately wanted to practice his swimming skills, but Mistystar had told him to wait. Stormpaw's eyes widened slightly when he saw a spark fly from beneath his paws. He glanced down to his paws, only to see sparks crackling beneath them. Startled by the sight, he jumped back with a frightened yelp. Mistystar was too busy paying attention to the fish to notice what was happening.

Still startled by the sight of sparks, Stormpaw stepped forward cautiously. His ears were pricked forward, and his whiskers stood on end. He was surprised to find that the sparks didn't hurt, like he expected. Without thinking about he he touched the sparks. He gasped in disbelief when the sparks erupted into streaks of lightning.

Carefully he thought of the fish that Mistystar was still watching. Her ears were pricked towards where he was. Somehow she seemed to ignore what he was doing. As his thoughts swam around the fish, the streaks of lightning suddenly moved their way towards it. Stormpaw yowled in surprise when the lightning struck the fish. It flopped around on the ground next to Mistystar until she ended its life with a quick bite.

"That was...unusual," Mistystar meowed after settling down. "Willowshine said you would be gifted with powers," she added with a swipe of her tongue around her muzzle.

"But I killed the fish!" Stormpaw exclaimed. "Shouldn't I be considered a danger to the Clan?"

A purr rose in Mistystar's throat. She tapped his shoulder gently with her tail and locked gazes with him. "I will not let you endanger the lives of my Clanmates," she murmured. "And besides, what harm can controlling lightning do?" Her blue eyes flashed when a cat approached them. It was Duskfur.

"ShadowClan have decided to move their border a little too close to ours," she warned the RiverClan leader.

Mistystar's fur began to bristle. Stormpaw blinked in surprise after the initial shock had died down. He would teach those ShadowClan scum a lesson or two. The dark gray apprentice didn't flinch when he felt Mistystar's tail on his shoulder.

"Show us where it is," she told the older warrior.

The three cats raced through the reeds until they reached a sandy area. Birch trees and a few willow trees grew around here. Stormpaw's nose wrinkled in disgust when he caught an unfamiliar stench rolling across the clearing. It stank of crowfood, and something else he couldn't describe.

Much to his amusement, a ShadowClan cat was stalking through the little vegetation that grew around here. It was a skinny looking black and white tom with pale amber eyes.

His tail was kinked high as he emerged from a fern that grew between two boulders. Others were with them, and they cautiously looked around. A tortoiseshell and white apprentice looked unusually frightened as she followed a mottled brown and ginger tom. The older cat snarled at her when she jumped at the snapping of a twig.

"So they think they can take our territory do they?" Mistystar hissed quietly. Four other RiverClan cats were pacing eagerly on the bank, waiting for her order. Duskfur was among them.

She leaped to her paws and snarled venomously towards the black and white tom. He whipped around, eyes widening in utter shock.

"How dare you invade our territory when it is greenleaf!" she spat.

"We are just widening our hunting grounds," he growled back.

Mistystar lifted her tail, signaling to the group of cats waiting on the bank. Stormpaw watched as they slinked towards the black and white warrior. His fur stood on end when their eyes narrowed dangerously.

"ShadowClan, attack!" he yowled.

Before Stormpaw could reply, the mottled brown and ginger warrior lunged forward. He nearly wailed in surprise when more ShadowClan warriors erupted from the other side. They seemed to appear out of nowhere as they ambushed unsuspecting RiverClan cats.

He gasped in pain when the mottled warrior bit down hard on his front left leg. It was enough to make sparks crackle from beneath. The mottled brown and ginger tom let out a shocked wail when the sparks seared his whiskers. When the warrior had let go and run off, Stormpaw searched for any other enemies. He spotted his next target: The tortoiseshell and white apprentice.

Without hesitating he leaped forward with his claws unsheathed. The apprentice whirled around to face him. It was at that moment that the battle seemed to slow down around them. Stormpaw's jaw had dropped when he saw something familiar on her forehead. Her eyes were wide with horror as his claws raked her side. The image would never leave his mind when he got older.

"You're...you're Marked?" he choked out.

The ShadowClan apprentice looked like she was writhing in pain. Stormpaw stared at her in dismay. The wound he had given her was deep enough to cause lots of pain. Perhaps enough to make her hate him.

He let out a yowl of shock when the wound suddenly began to glow. A moment of silence swiftly followed as the glow nearly blinded him. Than as if it had never happened, the glow faded into darkness. They were left staring at each other in confusion. It took Stormpaw a few heartbeats to realize what had just occurred. Her wound no longer existed. Not even a scar was etched where his claws had met skin. He took the moment of confusion to study the mark on her forehead. It had glowed at the same time her wound glowed. It was the shape of an oak leaf.

"Yes, I am," she replied after hesitating a couple of heartbeats. She glanced down at his paws, where the sparks continued to crackle. "Let me see your leg," she added stiffly.

Hesitantly he lifted it, revealing the wound the mottled brown and ginger warrior had given him. He was surprised to find that it was the paw with the mark on it. The mark was glowing brightly like her own had been.

"Than we are not alone," she whispered. "We must meet together, before the full moon," she added more clearly to Stormpaw. "I'm certain the others are aware of our presence. I will warn ThunderClan, and perhaps that apprentice can warn WindClan."

Stormpaw's fur stood on end at the thought of going behind his Clan's back. He could only imagine the searing rage Mistystar would feel knowing that her own apprentice had vanished without a trace. Not to mention the humiliation he would face if Nightpaw found out.

"I...I'm not sure if that's such a good idea," he murmured. By now the battle had drawn to a halt. Rowanstar had arrived moments after RiverClan emerged from the bank. Now only Stormpaw and this apprentice were hidden. "What will happen if the Clans find out? They might think we're conspiring against them," he added.

The ShadowClan apprentice winced as though a stone had been hurled at her chest. "You think I don't know that?" she hissed. "I want to remain loyal towards my Clan...But I have greater callings. I've spoken to StarClan, and this is what they want."

Stormpaw looked away, towards a patch of reeds. He couldn't even think about leaving his Clanmates now. They would think he was a traitor. "I'm sorry," he growled. "But right now my Clan needs me more than you do. I can't leave them now." It felt like a hole had opened up in front of him. Why did it feel as though leaving her behind was the worse thing he could do? Surely abandoning his Clan was far worse.

When he met her gaze, her amber eyes clouded in sorrow. "I'm sorry too," she rasped. "We will not be free until you follow your destiny."

With that, she left him and joined the mottled brown and ginger warrior. He was bleeding heavily after a nasty claw wound left by Duskfur. The rest of ShadowClan looked just as bad. Stormpaw lowered his gaze when the tortoiseshell and white apprentice stared at her paws. It looked as though her mentor was lecturing her.

You did the right thing, he tried to tell himself. Somewhere deep inside, Stormpaw knew that he was wrong. The four of them would have to meet sooner or later. Destiny always came crashing forward. There was nothing he could do to stop it.

I hope you all liked it! That whole bit about destiny chasing you down was from Sailor Moon, if you haven't noticed. A sort of stole a line from Amara ^^" Please remember to leave a review!