Author's Notes: Thanks to those who have reviewed already! Keep the reviews coming! I love to hear from you all. Just to let everybody know, I'm running out of ideas...so I may ask for some ideas when I get to a spot where I can't think of what to do next. You can all review and give me some ideas. If I pick your idea, then I will mention your name in one of my author's notes. Thanks for reading, I hope you're all enjoying it!

Disclaimer: I don't own Warriors, but I do own the characters created for this story. Please don't intentionally steal any of them!

Chapter 1

Rowanwind sat and watched Purepaw and Palepaw practicing their battle moves. His apprentice had come really far in the two months that Rowanwind had been his mentor. He heard pawsteps and turned to see Stormypelt walking toward him. Immediately, Rowanwind felt the strange feeling inside of him that came whenever he saw Stormypelt nearby.

"Their fighting has improved, hasn't it?" Stormypelt mewed, sitting down between Rowanwind and Thunderstripe, Rowanwind's best friend. "I should know, considering I practiced with them for some time."

Stormypelt had been one of the kittypets from Twolegplace that Rowanwind had asked to help ThunderClan, Riverclan, WindClan, and ShadowClan against the evil DarkClan cats who were trying to take their homes. Stormypelt had once been called Stormy, until she had asked to become part of ThunderClan. She had then been given the warrior name Stormypelt by ThunderClan's leader, Clawstar. Now, Stormypelt could often be seen on hunting patrols or going off with Lola and Francis, her kittypet parents who were stationed in ThunderClan, to get reports from the other kittypets who were stationed in the other Clans.

"Yes. I'm really impressed with how far Purepaw has come," Rowanwind agreed.

"He has a great mentor," Stormypelt purred.

The feeling in Rowanwind's inside increased. He twisted around to lick at his ginger fur to try and mask the strange emotion he was feeling.

Thunderstripe glanced at Rowanwind and then Stormypelt. A twinkle entered the black and pepper striped tom's yellow eyes. "I think we can call off their practice. They deserve a day off."

"Good idea," Rowanwind agreed.

"I'd better go," Stormypelt said. Rowanwind turned to see her looking off toward where Lola, a gray she-cat, and Francis, a brown tom, were seated. "We're off to get a report from Pineroot, Andy, and Oliver."

Pineroot was another cat who had once been a kittypet; he had decided to join ShadowClan. He had been stationed there for barely a quarter of a moon before Stormypelt had come back saying that he had been given the warrior name of Pineroot. Andy and Oliver were two other kittypet toms, but they had not decided to join in any Clans.

"See you later," Stormypelt meowed.

"See you. Say hello to the others for me," Rowanwind said.

"I will!" Stormypelt scampered over to her parents, and the three disappeared into the surrounding forest.

"Hey! You can stop now!" Thunderstripe called to their apprentices. "Rowanwind and I have decided you two have been doing so well lately that you can have the day off."

"Really?" Purepaw's light green eyes widened. He leapt away from Palepaw, his black and white sister, and shook the dirt and leaves from his own white and black pelt. "Let's go play in the lake!"

"Be careful!" Rowanwind called after Purepaw and Palepaw as they ran off in the direction of the lake.

Thunderstripe shook his head at Rowanwind. "Let them play. Remember when we were like that?"

Rowanwind glanced at Thunderstripe but held his tongue. It hadn't been too long ago that the two of them had fought over the fact that Rowanwind had grown up too fast. It wasn't his fault that he was part of a very important prophecy, or that he had been chosen as ThunderClan's deputy after Ashfang, the former deputy and Rowanwind's former mentor, had died during a battle against DarkClan.

"So, are you going to ask her soon?" Thunderstripe asked nonchalantly.

"Ask who what?" Rowanwind blinked in confusion.

"Stormypelt, of course!" Thunderstripe stared at his friend with surprise in his twinkling, yellow eyes. "Or haven't you noticed?"

"Noticed what?" Rowanwind had no idea where this conversation was leading.

Thunderstripe batted a paw at Rowanwind's ear. "It's almost entirely obvious that she likes you! And you can't say that you don't like her back. I've seen the way the two of you look at each other when you're together. That and I can practically see your insides getting all squirmy when you look at her, even from a distance!"

"My insides do not get all squirmy!" Rowanwind retorted.

Thunderstripe laughed. "I told you that you can't deny it!"

"Well, what about Gingerheart? I've seen the way you've been looking at her lately!" Rowanwind jabbed a paw into Thunderstripe's side. "And she looks at you the same way when you aren't looking at her."

"Really?" Thunderstripe's ears perked up.

Rowanwind laughed. "Now who looks so interested in a she-cat?"

Thunderstripe swatted Rowanwind's nose with his tail-tip. "You're a sneaky one, Rowanwind! Come on. Let's go see if we can find Gingerheart and go hunting! We haven't hunted together in ages!"

"Maybe tomorrow, Thunderstripe," Rowanwind said. "Remember, Clawstar is going out on patrol with Dapplefoot, Blackcloud, Silverpaw, and Cottonpaw."

"Silverpaw and Cottonpaw are going?" Thunderstripe's eyes lit up again. "I bet they're going to try their hardest during the patrol to show Clawstar they're ready to be warriors!"

"I know what you mean. I don't know what Clawstar is waiting for," Rowanwind said. "I better get back to camp."

Thunderstripe sighed. "Okay. But do you promise to go hunting with Gingerheart and me tomorrow?"

"I promise, Thunderstripe," Rowanwind replied with a laugh. "See you later. Maybe you should go find Gingerheart and tell her how you feel!"

"Ha!" Thunderstripe called after him. "Only if you go and tell Stormypelt how you feel about her!"

Rowanwind chuckled and padded back to camp to find Clawstar.

Rowanwind wasn't even all the way through the tunnel entrance of ThunderClan's camp, and he knew something was wrong. The camp sounded strangely quiet. He stalked out of the tunnel into the camp and found Clawstar seated on the Highledge. Below him, the cats of ThunderClan were further back than usual. Rowanwind padded forward and around the cats to see what was going on.

Seated at the bottom of the Highledge was a black tom. Rowanwind's fur bristled when he realized the hunched figure was a DarkClan tom. Darkeye, Cloverpelt, and Crookedfern were seated close behind the DarkClan tom. All three were eyeing the tom with suspicion. Clawstar looked down at the four of them with slitted green eyes.

"Rowanwind, good. I was hoping you would show up soon," Clawstar said. "This DarkClan tom says he has been exhiled from DarkClan by Sly himself."

The black tom looked up at Rowanwind. A jolt of shock went through Rowanwind's body when he saw the tom's eyes. His left eye was green, and his right eye was blue. Words, long forgotten, until now, replayed in Rowanwind's head.

"One green, one blue, he will come to you, shift from foe to ally," Ashfang's voice said in his mind.

Had Ashfang been telling him about this tom? Rowanwind scrambled up the cliff to sit beside Clawstar.

"We need to speak privately," Rowanwind whispered.

Clawstar nodded. He looked down at the ThunderClan cats. "Keep a watch on the tom. Rowanwind and I will discuss what to do with him."

Together, the ThunderClan leader and deputy headed up to Clawstar's den. Once inside, Clawstar turned curious eyes on Rowanwind.

"I saw your reaction when that DarkClan tom looked at you. What is the matter, Rowanwind?" Clawstar wondered.

Rowanwind shook his head. "Nothing is the matter. I just remembered something Ashfang told me before...before I saw her head up to StarClan."

"You saw Ashfang going to StarClan?" Clawstar hung his head.

"Yes. She told me, 'One green, one blue, he will come to you, shift from foe to ally.' I forgot about what she'd told me, until now. That DarkClan tom has one blue green and one blue eye," Rowanwind said.

Clawstar looked up. "And what do you think she meant by those words?"

Rowanwind bent his head respectfully. "I think she wants us to accept the tom into ThunderClan. I can't see any other interpretation of 'from foe to ally.' Can you?"

Clawstar shook his head. "No. I will tell the Clan that you had a sign..."

"Why don't I tell them?" Rowanwind suggested.

Clawstar paused before nodding. "Yes. You can tell them that Ashfang sent you this message from StarClan. They will accept it more if it is coming from you directly. I will not give Switch a warrior name, yet. I will give him an apprentice name. Who do you think should be his mentor?"

"I think Crookedfern would be the best choice," Rowanwind suggested.

"I was thinking of choosing him as well," Clawstar agreed. "I will discuss it with him and then have Switch's ceremony tonight."

Rowanwind nodded in agreement.

"Then let us go and tell them," Clawstar said.

The two of them left his den and scrambled down to the Highledge once more. Rowanwind could feel the tension in the bodies of the cats below him. Would they accept his and Clawstar's choice if they knew it was StarClan's choice as well?

"Cats of ThunderClan! Rowanwind has something he needs to tell you," Clawstar said.

Rowanwind took a steadying breath before speaking. "I received a short prophecy from Ashfang moons ago, after she died. I had forgotten about it, until now, when Switch looked at me. Ashfang told me, 'One green, one blue, he will come to you, shift from foe to ally.' I'm sure some of you have noticed that Switch has one green eye, and one blue eye. I believe that Ashfang was telling me that we should accept Switch into ThunderClan!"

"What gives you the right to intrepret prophecies?" Cottonpaw shouted. "Isn't that a medicine cat's job?"

"You all know that he is the cat in the prophecy StarClan gave Frostflower! I believe that gives him the right to interpret prophecies he is given by StarClan!" Clawstar meowed loudly. "I have taken Rowanwind's words to heart. I am allowing Switch to join ThunderClan! We will hold his apprentice ceremony later tonight."

There were a few outraged yowls, but Clawstar flicked his tail to indicate them to stop. A few whispers went through the crowd instead.

"But, if we find out that Switch is here as a spy, he will be chased off our territory and never allowed back!" Clawstar said.

Switch stood and looked up at Clawstar and Rowanwind. "Thank you. I will try my best to learn your ways. I will follow them to the best of my ability. I am finished with DarkClan. Forever."

"We shall see," Clawstar meowed. "Now, I am going off on a patrol with Dapplefoot, Blackcloud, and their apprentices. Rowanwind is in charge of the camp until my return."

Clawstar and Rowanwind jumped down from the Highledge. Rowanwind watched Clawstar go off to meet up with Dapplefoot, Blackcloud, Silverpaw, and Cottonpaw. The four of them spoke together for a moment before padding over to the tunnel and out of the camp.

"Rowanwind!"

He turned to see Quickpelt trotting over to him. A prickle of pain went through him at the thought of Sprucebark, his father and Quickpelt's old mate. Rowanwind had returned to camp with Oakpelt and Oakpelt's halfClan son, Coldkit, some time ago to find that Sprucebark had died. Rowanwind was partially glad his father had finally passed on; Sprucebark's joints had been giving him so much pain that the old tom had barely been able to get up out of his nest of moss and bracken.

"Hello, Quickpelt. How are you doing?" Rowanwind asked.

"I have some happy news, Rowanwind!" Quickpelt purred. "I went to see Frostflower this morning. She says I'm going to have kits!"

Rowanwind's ears perked up. "Sprucebark's?"

Quickpelt nodded, her light blue eyes shining. "I wish he could be here to hear this happy news."

Rowanwind touched Quickpelt's ear with his nose. "He's looking down on you from StarClan. I'm sure he's quite happy."

"Frostflower says that I don't have to go into the nursery until I start to feel them," Quickpelt says. "But she says that I must stick close to the camp, in case of a DarkClan attack."

"I think that's the best idea," Rowanwind agreed. "Congratulations, Quickpelt."

She purred. "Just think, Rowanwind! You'll finally have some siblings. I just know they're going to adore their elder brother."

Rowanwind purred back. "I'm sure they're going to be great."

Quickpelt stretched and gave a mighty yawn. "I think I'll go tell Snowcloud and Softcreek the great news."

"Say hello to them for me," Rowanwind told her.

"I will!" Quickpelt waved her tail in good-bye and trotted away toward the nursery, where she would find Snowcloud and Softcreek and their kits.

Rowanwind padded over to the fresh-kill pile and chose a juicy mouse. He had only just started eating when he saw Gingerheart and Thunderstripe padding into camp. His two friends spotted him and came over.

"We just ran into Clawstar's patrol," Thunderstripe said.

"Where is he?" Gingerheart asked, looking around.

"Who?" Rowanwind asked.

"Switch!" Gingerheart replied. "He's the tom who gave Lionpaw and me extra food and water while we were DarkClan's prisoners!"

Rowanwind looked up from his mouse with surprise. "Really? I had no idea."

"So, where is he?" Gingerheart asked.

"I don't know. He should be in the camp somewhere," Rowanwind replied.

Gingerheart padded away to go look for the newest member of ThunderClan.

Thunderstripe sat down beside Rowanwind. "ThunderClan is getting awfully big, isn't it?"

Rowanwind nodded. "I think we're going to have to make some of our dens larger soon to accommodate everyone."

Thunderstripe began to groom his tail. "Yeah. I think the warriors' den is a little crowded since Stormypelt and Gingerheart became warriors. We'll definitely have to enlarge the den when Cottonpaw and Silverpaw become warriors, which is soon, I bet."

"I hope Clawstar decides to give them their warrior names in the next few days," Rowanwind said. "We need all the warriors we can get since our border and hunting patrols have increased. Oh, I have some good news. Quickpelt is pregnant."

"Seriously?" Thunderstripe looked up from cleaning his tail. "Wow, Rowanwind! You're going to have a younger brother or sister!"

"Or both, maybe," Rowanwind said.

"It's too bad about Sprucebark, though. They'll never know their father," Thunderstripe said sadly.

"They'll have me," Rowanwind said.

Thunderstripe laughed. "Yes, having a big brother is always better than having a father."

"I think it's better this way," Rowanwind said, taking another bite of his mouse. "Sprucebark's pain was getting to be too much to bare. It's better that they think of him as a grand warrior than an elder who was always in pain."

Thunderstripe stretched, unsheathing and sheathing his claws. "That makes sense, Rowanwind. I'll have to remember to congratulate Quickpelt later. I think I'll go take a nap. I'm not due for a patrol until tomorrow."

"Okay. Have a good nap," Rowanwind said.

He watched Thunderstripe pad over to the warriors' den. On his way there, he came across Gingerheart and Switch. The three of them talked for a few moments; Rowanwind guessed that Gingerheart was introducing Switch to Thunderstripe. Then Thunderstripe disappeared into the den, and Gingerheart and Switch came over to Rowanwind.

"Hello," Rowanwind said.

Gingerheart sat down next to Rowanwind and gestured for Switch to sit as well. The black tom cautiously sat down on Gingerheart's other side.

"Switch told me what you said about what Ashfang told you," Gingerheart said. "I know that Switch will be loyal to ThunderClan. He never seemed to agree with the things he was forced to do by the other DarkClan cats. Tell Rowanwind what you told me!"

Switch fidgeted, clearly uncomfortable. "Sly had a patrol kidnap a water cat kit. I was asked to go, but I thought I should go hunting instead to feed Gingerpaw and Lionpaw. I hadn't been to see them in a while. When I got to the tree they used to be tied up to, I realized that they were gone. I'd hoped that they'd escaped. Then Crusade came and told me that Sly wanted to see me. I knew Sly was wondering about my loyalty. He asked me to kill the water cat kit in front of them all. I refused. I grabbed the she-kit and ran. I returned her to her home, and then Lionstorm suggested I come here because Gingerheart is here."

"Lionstorm?" Rowanwind sat up.

"Yes!" Gingerheart purred. "Lionpaw has been made into a warrior! Remember, Switch, we don't call them water cats. They're RiverClan."

Switch nodded.

"I'm going to help Switch learn all he can about our ways," Gingerheart said.

"Gingerheart, Clawstar is planning on giving Switch an apprentice name and a mentor," Rowanwind said.

"So? Does that mean I can't help him?" Gingerheart flicked the tip of her tail.

"I guess not," Rowanwind said. "But you have to remember that his mentor will be teaching him things as well."

Gingerheart nodded. "I understand, Rowanwind."

"What is an apprentice's name? And what is a mentor?" Switch asked.

"All apprentices have names that end in paw," Gingerheart explained. "Their mentors are the warriors who teach them how to hunt, fight, and all the ways to follow the warrior code."

"Warriors? You mean, like soldiers?" Switch blinked his mismatched eyes.

"Soldiers? Is that what they call them in DarkClan?" Rowanwind asked.

Switch nodded. "There's the chief, the commander, the healer, the soldiers, the students, the queens, and the kits."

"That sounds similar to our Clan. We have a leader, a deputy, a medicine cat, the warriors, the apprentices, the queens, the kits, and the elders. Don't you have elders in DarkClan?" Gingerheart wondered.

"What's an elder?" Switch asked in response.

"They are the cats who are too old to hunt or fight any longer," Rowanwind explained. "They stay in camp, and the apprentices take them food and clean their pelts of fleas and ticks."

Switch looked at them with surprise. "No, there aren't elders in DarkClan. If a cat can no longer fight or hunt, Sly has them exiled or killed."

Gingerheart gasped. "Don't they respect the old cats?"

Switch shook his head. "I guess not."

Rowanwind shook his head. "I can see why you wanted to leave DarkClan."

Webpaw, Nimblepaw, and Sootpaw came scurrying out of the elders' den suddenly. All three of them were giggling and laughing. Rowanwind wondered what the three of them found so funny. He assumed one of the elders' had told a funny story.

The tunnel entrance suddenly moved. Rowanwind turned his head to see Silverpaw stumbling into camp. Even from this distance, Rowanwind could see the patches of blood covering Silverpaw. One of the tom's ears was tattered.

"Silverpaw!" Rowanwind shouted.

End of Chapter One

Author's Notes: I have to say thanks to Skybreeze for pointing out a few of my grammar mistakes in this chapter. I was rushing myself to get the few chapters I had uploaded because I had some other obligations to attend to. Thanks for pointing out the mistakes, Skybreeze.