Several things flashed through my mind as I felt Tigerclaw add more weight to his paw, one of which was a peaceful quiet clearing with a tortoiseshell laying with its back to me, contently watching a large lake from the edge of the clearing; and then I was back, staring up into the hate-filled eyes of Tigerclaw as he prepared to snuff out my life like he had Redtails, when a call rang out.

"Tigerclaw, stop!" The voice held an authority in it that I could sense immediately, a voice that held great wisdom, yet great responsibility, 'the voice of a leader.' The weight on my chest suddenly vanished before Tigerclaw turned to glare at the lithe figure of a blue-grey she-cat, her ice blue eyes alight with cold flames. She stepped around Tigerclaw, stopping right in front of me.

"Explain yourself, is what Tigerclaw said the truth? Did you lead Redtail into a trap?" she asked as she stared directly into my eyes. A feeling of horror slowly overtook me as I turned from her to look at Tigerclaw, who, aside from his claws, hadn't moved a muscle. I finally looked back at Bluestar, dipping my head.

"No Bluestar, I arrived after hearing the sounds of battle while I was out in the forest near Sunning Rocks." I said, doing my best to keep the panic out of my voice. "When I heard the sounds of battle, I followed them to find Redtail and his patrol under attack by Oakheart. I tried m-" I continued before a loud yowl sounded from Tigerclaw.

"Lies, I saw you leap on Redtail in the middle of the battle, it was you that killed him!" He screeched before Bluestar silenced him with a flick of her tail. "Continue." She said, eyeing me with both sadness and confusion. "I- Yes, I did jump on Redtail, but I didn't attack him." I said, looking up at Bluestar again.

"I pushed him clear of a rockslide that happened in the middle of the battle, had I not there would have been another cat crushed below those stones." I finished, lowering my head again. As Bluestar began to speak, her voice tinged with surprise. "Another cat, what do you mean another cat?" She asked.

I looked up at her again and tried to remember the appearance of the tom I'd fought with Redtail. "He was rather large.. Thick reddish fur, and amber eyes." Her eyes widened in disbelief. "Oakheart," she muttered as a flash of pain and sadness filled her voice, leaving her to lower her head for a moment to compose herself.

After a few moments she raised her head again, casting a glance back at Redtails' body before releasing a pained sigh and looking at me again. "I can tell you're speaking the truth," she said. I let my shoulder sag slightly in relief, only to tense up again as she continued. "But, I cannot ignore the words of one of my senior warriors" she said, as a strange feeling of dread overtook me.

"Therefore, I banish you from Thunderclans territory. If any of my warriors see you on our territory after Sunhigh tomorrow.." She stopped, taking a breath and lowering her head before continuing. "Then.. They have my permission to kill you", she finished, raising her head to look at me again, a look of sorrow clouding her vision.

For a moment I stood there, my mind slowly processing what she'd just done before I slowly dipped my head, a tear forming in my eye until I raised my head again. "I.." I started only to stop, unable to think of a way to reply, my mind seemed as though someone had thrown a switch until a deep toned sneer reached my ears. "You heard her Rogue, get out of here." Tigerclaw hissed, his claws digging deep into the packed dirt as I looked up and surveyed the clearing.

A majority of the warriors seemed to watch me with a mix of confusion, while Mousefur stood with a saddened look on her face . Longtail seemed to be silently cheering to himself as I continued to survey the crowd of cats, until my eyes locked onto the familiar pattern of Spottedleaf's pelt, her head was lowered and her eyes seemed to be closed.

Slowly, I rose to my paws and looked to where Silverpaw laid, having hardly moved from the spot where she'd fallen after Tigerclaws strike. Glancing up at the mocking eyes of the massive tabby, I let my eyes scream every manner of hate at him, before turning away from the over-ambitious murderer and his leader. I helped Silverpaw to her feet, as my weakened legs faltered. She pushed herself against my flank, balancing me out in time to avoid collapsing, and slowly paddled toward the tunnel, only to pause at the entrance.

"Bluestar, I am no murderer, and I will still help to defend Thunderclan after I leave here," I said without turning my head. An angry snarl reached my ears. "Quiet Rogue, you'll never set foot inside our border again unless you wish to die." Slowly I sighed and, with the help of Silverpaw, pushed my way through the tunnel and out into the forest as the sun set behind us, illuminating everything with dazzling hues of orange and yellow, though I simply looked at the ground, disbelief clouding my mind before finally pulling away from Silverpaw.

"You should head back to Riverclan." I mumbled as she looked back at me with confusion. "But, what about you?" She asked, tilting her head again. "I'm keeping to my word. I'm going to help Thunderclan in every way I can," I said, before stalking off in the direction of Shadowclan. As I continued on toward the border, I kept my eyes and ears peeled for the scent of any patrols. 'I hope Tigerclaw hasn't come out after me.' I thought before finally reaching a larger than normal Oak with unusually high branches and I quickly leapt onto the trunk, hauling myself up to the branches and found what I'd been searching for.

I stepped into the large hollow opening in the tree, and gave a silent sigh of relief that it was empty. I quickly exited the hollow to begin searching for moss, only to notice some that had grown up the side of the tree, leaving me to quickly scrape the soft greenery off the trunk and place it inside the hollow of the tree. Within minutes, I had assembled a semi-comfortable nest hidden away inside the tree, which seemed to emanate a odd smelling scent. It almost covered up the scent of everything else. Almost.

Slowly I curled up inside the nest, considering what could happen if I was discovered by a patrol or, Starclan forbid, Tigerclaw. 'Its not like I can fly.' I thought only to stop and think back, eventually putting the thought of opening a pair of wings in my head, before the feeling of something brushing the interior of the trunk caused me to look over my shoulder and freeze. A mixture of delight and surprise battled in my head.

Rising up to the top of the hollowed area were two large brown and white wings, easily twice the size of me and nearly perfect. Their surfaces like that of an angel. I slowly moved them, eventually deciding to wrap them around me as a sort of extra barrier against the cold that seeped into the hollow space and eventually let my exhaustion take me.


Over the next few days I practiced with my wings, slowly learning how to control them without dropping from the sky, before eventually testing myself, flying through sets of tree's and at one point, flying over the river and actually nabbing a fish from the water Eagle-style. But as I practiced, I eventually began to work out how to fly quietly, how to silently glide in and how to land without making to much noise.

As the days went on, I slowly grew stronger, faster, and a little bit lonelier. It was a normal night. The cool night air flowing through my fur felt as nice as ever. I made my approach to the hollow tree, when a shape moving below caught my attention and I landed short, coming to a stop at the foot of my tree. Glancing back into the shadowy undergrowth, a pair of shining Amber-brown eyes glowed from the shadow of a nearby bush.

At first I tensed myself, afraid that Tigerclaw had finally found me, only to calm down as the small figure rose from under the bush and slowly stalked forward until the moonlight shone on her glossy brown fur. "Mousefur." I said, casting a cautious glance around the clearing as she came to a stop. "Don't worry, I decided to hunt alone tonight." She said, casting a worried glance at my wings before I folded them up against my back.

"When were you going to tell us about that little detail." She asked, tilting her head and narrowing her eyes slightly. Slowly I glanced back at my wings and lowered my head for a moment before looking up at her again. "I was afraid you'd cast me out for being different." I said as she glanced over her shoulder into the undergrowth. "Why are you here Oak, you were supposed to leave the territory." She said, a look of slight worry crossing her eyes for less then a heartbeat, before vanishing again.

"I cant leave, while I was heading through Shadowclan. I heard a conversation between Brokenstar and some other cats, warriors I guess." Mousefur perked her ears at the mention of Shadowclans leader. "He said he had a plan to strike a Thunderclan, but it'd have to be while Bluestar was away from camp." I lied. 'Its a safe lie at best.' I thought as Mousefur's eyes widened in horror.

"Bluestar left for Highstones shortly after Sunhigh, the attack could be tonight." She muttered as the sound of paw steps echoed through the undergrowth. As quietly as possible, I guided Mousefur into the roots beneath the tree, hoping the tree's scent would mask ours as the dark shapes of lean warriors stalked by, looking more like shadows then an invading enemy.

Quietly I muttered into Mousefur's ear. "I'm going to fly ahead and warn the clan, you wait until the patrol attacks the camp before you join in." I pulled myself up and out of the roots, and as quiet as the wind, took off into the dark pre-dawn light as the sun slowly rose over the horizon, illuminating the Shadowclan patrol only feet from the thorn barrier. 'I'm too late!' I mentally yelled before folding my wings and diving down, lining up the largest tom I could see, a massive white warrior only seconds from the barrier before letting out a battle cry.

"Thunderclan, Defend yourselves!" I yowled before plowing into the tom, carrying both of us through the tunnel and into the clearing as Thunderclan warriors rushed from their dens to see what was happening, only to find themselves under siege as Shadowclan warriors poured through the thorn tunnel, hissing and clawing at anything that got in their way.

Quickly I folded my wings, pressing them close against my body, leaping into the fray again, clawing furiously at a Shadowclan tabby who, after a few quick slices across his muzzle and side, fled toward the entrance before slamming face first into the massive bulk of a terrifyingly familiar tabby. But before he could throw himself at me, I saw the massive white tom slaughter an older tom and reach into one of the dens and in horror realized the plan as I called out above the fighting and battle cries.

"Thunderclan, defend the Nursery, their after the kits!" I yowled before charging across the crowded clearing and collided with the tom. He stumbled back from the nursery entrance and began clawing at his side before he could turn to face me. But just as he managed a quick slice across my chest, a flurry of flame colored fur collided with him, hissing and slashing at the tom before he rose and retreated into the crowd, and within minutes, the battle over as Shadowclan fled through the thorn tunnel.

As I stood watching the last of them flee, I felt as though I'd done something amazing, like I'd achieved something rare, or important. A set of teeth buried themselves in my neck and flung me against the thorn wall, before a set of claws dug into my back, and the oh so memorable voice of Tigerclaw sneered in my ear. "You were warned Rogue, now you die." He finished as he raised the paw.