A/U: This chapter is rather long. I'm quite pleased about that. I'm sorry for the delayed update, but I've been busy working on newer ways of writing. Hopefully this is enough to satisfy your need for more :D Oh, and thanks to all who have reviewed! Don't forget to vote on the poll, it will be up until the end of March.

Chapter 9

Light filtered through the brambles that Rockfall padded through. He could feel their thorns scraping his skin. Worry had begun to settle down on him as he watched Onestar's last life slowly ebb away. It was the day after Flowertail had announced the Marked should leave. Now he was heading towards the sight where Goldenpaw had been buried.

Memories of their times as apprentices coursed through him. Goldenpaw would never become a warrior like she had dreamed. She would never pass on her genes to WindClan like their mother. It left a bitter tang in his tongue as he spoke her name in soft whispers. Never before had he felt so lost without her. Even when there were times when they didn't get along. Just before she died they had been angry with each other.

Now I'll never tell her I'm sorry, he thought with a guilty shake of his head. Soon he reached a patch of ground that looked as though it had been freshly dug up. He could even smell his sister's scent as he opened his jaws.

He came to this sight when he couldn't think properly. The young WindClan warrior was well aware that his Clanmates would be searching for him.

Rockfall sighed and lowered his muzzle to touch his sister's mound. Nothing could replace his sister. Not even Heathertail, who had gotten over it within the next day.

. . .

The sun was beginning to set by the time Rockfall returned from his fruitless vigil. Most of the Clan was beginning to settle down for the night. Gorsetail watched as her kits tumbled out of the nursery, one by one. Thistlekit, the largest of the two, let out a squeal of surprise when he nearly plowed into Rockfall. Smokekit mewled when she stepped on her brother's tail. The two siblings looked up at Rockfall in shock.

"It's the monster!" Thistlekit wailed loudly enough for everyone to hear.

"Lets get him!" Smokekit mewed after her brother had risen to his paws.

Rockfall grunted when she ran into him at full speed. Thistlekit was about to do the same when their mother emerged from the nursery.

"That's enough you two," she warned them. "I'm sorry if they caused any trouble," she added to Rockfall when they scampered away.

He blinked at her, than looked around when he felt the stares of his Clanmates. Whiskerfur looked like he was sneering at Rockfall. Furzeleaf and Emberfoot both glared pointedly at the young warrior.

"It's alright," he told her. "Kits will be kits." He shrugged as though nothing had happened.

Nothing could stop the vengeful glares of his Clanmates. They were both angry and afraid of him. None of them wanted to say it out loud. That was what really hurt him. He glanced around as cats looked up from the kit's noises.

"How's Onestar?" he asked when Gorsetail had herded her kits into the nursery.

The pale gray queen suddenly looked crestfallen. She looked towards the den where Onestar slept.

In order to prevent sickness, Kestrelflight had told Onestar to stay inside a comfortable den. The WindClan leader had protested immediately against it. But soon he gave in to Kestrelflight and settled into the cave.

After seasons of leading WindClan, the leader was beginning to look more frail than ever. Rockfall had known all along that Onestar only had a single life left. Most of the Clan thought he had two.

"Kestrelflight thinks he won't last the night," Gorsetail sighed. "Weaselfur will make a good leader though. Crowfeather wasn't meant to be our leader."

An angry glint lit her eyes as she thought of the former WindClan deputy. Crowfeather had fled when he discovered Leafpool returned to ThunderClan. After finding out that Bramblestar had sent her away along with Squirrelflight, that was when he left. Most of the Clan had already forgotten about Crowfeather.

"I just hope the other Clans don't take advantage of us," Rockfall murmured.

It was a difficult choice to leave the Clan at such a time. With one less warrior they could suffer traumatically. ThunderClan cats could easily defeat them in battle if times were lean. He had seen Coppershine fight, and she was skilled even for her age.

"They won't." Both cats looked around until they spotted Weaselfur. His ginger fur was well groomed, and his green eyes were sharp as he met their gazes. "I won't let the Clans take advantage of us. Not like Onestar or Tallstar did. There will be no strong bond between WindClan and ThunderClan."

Rockfall shivered at the intensity of his voice. Weaselfur had always been aggressive towards ThunderClan. The older warrior knew the past they shared with WindClan. How Firestar had gone to Twolegplace to bring them back to the forest. Of how Tallstar had believed so in Firestar. He had always wondered why Tallstar would have relied on Firestar so much. In a way he sort of understood now. Without Firestar's arrival WindClan would have never returned to the old territory.

Memories of those stories continued to course through his mind as Weaselfur turned to leave them. The WindClan deputy seemed to notice the vacant look within Rockfall's eyes. He only cared about the future of his Clan, and not the thoughts they shared.

The brown and black warrior suddenly shook his head when he realized that Gorsetail had left him as well. He could hear her kits mewling about him from the nursery. They were worried about what he could do to them as punishment. A smirk spread across Rockfall's face as he imagined the horror Thistlekit had felt when he tumbled into him.

He let out a sigh and padded towards his nest. Heathertail had already curled up, ready for a good night sleep. Nightcloud and Yellowtail were on guard duty for the night. Both stood on a tall boulder that overlooked the moor. The moon was beginning to rise as he curled up beside his mother. This could be their last night together and she would never know until it was too late.

Wind howled above Rockfall as sleep began to ensue. Wariness had pricked at him since the previous morning. The scents he had caught while on patrol with Harespring and Heathertail. He had begun to recognize the distinctive scents as Nightcloud's. She was constantly rolling in patches of catmint or anything that would hide her scent. Something that Rockfall wasn't used to.

Soon enough sleep took over. Exhaustion had settled in faster than Rockfall imagined.

Now he knew that he was dreaming as he padded through the forest. Bright sunlight filtered through the trees, warming his pelt. The familiar scents of his Clanmates filled his lungs as he opened his jaws to taste the air. Rocks and open cracks of earth could be seen as Rockfall moved through the thick undergrowth. Freshly grown chives and other wild grass touched his pads.

"Rockfall." The young Marked cat skidded to a halt when he heard the voice. It was a soft whisper in the breeze. His ears pricked forward when the voice came again, this time louder. "Young warrior. A great destiny you face."

Rockfall looked around warily. He wasn't sure who was speaking. He could sense there was another presence amongst him. A cat was watching him from the undergrowth.

"Who are you?" he demanded.

"My name does not matter." Rockfall gaped in surprise when a tortoiseshell emerged from the bushes in front of him. Her eyes were a piercing red. She looked like nothing he had ever seen before. "I see you noticed my eyes," she added with a purr of amusement. "My Clan noticed them as well, and for my unusual eye color I was banished."

"What...Clan were you from?" Rockfall asked. He was still wary about her. She didn't look like a cat from StarClan. Her fur didn't gleam with starlight like Flowertail had described. Instead it was glossy from a good grooming.

"I was from your Clan," she explained with a sigh. "Back in the ancient days cats didn't believe in the Marked. They were afraid of us. Which is why we chose to leave."

"We? You mean there are more?" Rockfall stared at her skeptically.

"Yes," she nodded. "There were many others before me, in fact. The Marked have always existed. The Clans sought out their powers to use them as weapons. It resulted in many battles, and many deaths." Her eyes clouded with sorrow as she thought of something that must have happened to her. "When we retaliated against the Clans, they banished us. I was part of the rebels who fought against them."

"What happened to them after the battle?" Rockfall leaned forward as curiosity slowly sank in. He wanted to know more about the ancient Marked, and where his own origins laid. Perhaps he could understand his own powers by knowing more about them.

"We were banished. I, along with four others fled towards the mountains. Two of our group died. I an another were the only survivors." She let out a longing sigh. "Not that it matters. The Clans will not accept you either, and we have been chosen to guide you through these times."

Rockfall nearly choked in dismay. He knew how difficult it would be for the Clans to notice their disappearance. But to know that they wouldn't care hurt even more. The she-cat blinked in at him sympathetically when she noticed his look of fear.

"There is no need to fear us," she murmured softly. Her words weaved around him like velvet. "I have the gift to persuade a cat into doing anything I desire. That is why my Clan banished me. They were afraid I would betray them."

"What is...your name?" He was almost afraid to ask. Somehow he had a feeling it would be bone-chilling.

"My name is Redeyes," she replied. "I prefer being called Red though," she added when Rockfall stared at her in surprise. "My mother wasn't exactly sane when I was born..." She broke off when a loud noise erupted from the undergrowth. "You must wake up!" she suddenly hissed. "Don't think about us while you are awake. The Clans will begin to suspect that something is wrong."

The WindClan warrior nodded after she finished speaking. Soon the world around him began to fade into darkness. He was sent once again into the dreaming world. Something he felt a surprising longing for.