Chapter Six

She was floating through darkness. She could still hear voices whispering around her, but for the most part her mind was empty. Until that was she started seeing visions. Visions of Brackenpaw hurting her. Of the cats from CaveClan glaring down at her. All she was to them was a disappointment. Maybe it was better that Brackenpaw had killed her. Maybe they would be better off without a rogue like her.

Finally her eyes slowly pried open. Her vision was still foggy, but she had a sense that she was in a forest. She wasn't even sure if this was StarClan. If it was than she was surprised they would accept her. After all she didn't belong in CaveClan.

"I'm glad to see that you're finally awake." Her eyes widened when she saw a figure standing in front of her. Then the bitter scent of herbs hit her nose when she tasted the air. "I apologize, I haven't cleaned my den yet since you were brought to me," the cat added in amusement.

"W-Where am I?" Her voice was hoarse, as if she hadn't used it in a long time. The cat gave her a wad of moss filled with water. She gratefully drank it, realizing how thirsty she was.

"You are safe, with WingClan," the cat replied. "When Featherwind found you we thought you were dead. But it turns out you are a fighter, just like the rest of us."

Featherwind? That was a strange name. She was used to hearing such simple names like Brackenpaw or Gorsewhisker.

"My head hurts," she muttered after noticing the throbbing in the back of her head.

"That's likely from the wounds you received," the cat explained. "Whoever did this to you left you for dead. It's a good thing we found you when we did."

She nodded and looked down at the ground. It was covered in dried leaves. When she looked around she noticed that the den was surrounded by leaves as well. She sighed in relief when she realized she wasn't surrounded by darkness.

"Nightwing, how is our guest?" She stiffened when a new voice spoke up. She glanced around and saw a beautiful looking golden she-cat staring at her sympathetically.

"She's fine, Goldenstar. She's still a bit on edge after what happened," replied the black tom standing next to her.

"After what Featherwind has told me, it's no wonder," the golden she-cat murmured. "Please let me know if you've made any progress. The Clan is worried."

Worried? Why would anyone worry about someone like me? she couldn't help but wonder. After all in CaveClan no one bothered asking if anything was wrong. To them she was about as useless as it got.

"Do you have a name, young one?" the tom called Nightwing asked. She nodded and looked down at her paws once more.

"My name is Skypaw," she replied.

"Skypaw… a very fitting name," the tom purred. "Well, as you can see my name is Nightwing. I am the Clan's medicine cat." Skypaw tried sitting up a little more, her eyes widening in surprise. When she did pain exploded in her shoulders. "Easy there, you suffered from quite a few injuries, and some of them were fatal."

Brackenpaw, he left me for dead! Skypaw's body shook at the thought. If she wasn't in so much pain she would have marched right over to CaveClan and clawed his eyes out for this. But she knew that she wasn't capable of such violence. She wasn't like him.

"Can I at least find out what your Clan is like?" she asked warily. Nightwing tilted his head to one side before flicking his tail towards the den's entrance. It was a tunnel made out of ferns, protected by thorns that surrounded it.

Slowly but surely she crawled towards the tunnel entrance, ignoring the stabbing pain in her shoulders. When she was able to look outside her eyes widened in amazement.

Cats of all shapes and colors were padding through a large open clearing. Trees surrounded the clearing, providing shelter and protection. For a moment Skypaw was too shocked to say anything, until she noticed something even stranger.

A young cat was bounding through the grass, chasing after a butterfly. He'd toppled over a branch and managed to catch himself, with wings. Skypaw could only gape at the sight as he landed lightly on his paws before chasing after the butterfly again.

"Those Cave rats always believe that we are monsters," Nightwing explained when he noticed her shocked expression. "But they have no idea how caring we are. How much we have struggled to survive because of their rumors."

"But I thought that the Sky Cats were just legends," Skypaw admitted guiltily. More and more cats with wings were flying down to greet Nightwing. Skypaw found herself cowering behind him as she realized they were staring at her.

"Those legends passed on by the CaveClan cats are reality." The golden she-cat from before approached them, showing off her feathered golden wings. Skypaw could only stare at the sight as the she-cat chuckled in amusement. "And I see that they did not do us any justice," she added in a purr.

"I'm sorry," Skypaw murmured, trying to keep the fear from overwhelming her. "I'm just… shocked by all of this."

"I know that it is a lot to take in," the golden she-cat meowed. "For now get some rest, tomorrow we can explain to you how things work in our Clan."

Skypaw dipped her head in understanding, grateful to get away for a while. Nightwing led her to the nest she had been sleeping on. By now she had almost forgotten about the pain in her shoulders until she curled up again.

"Do you really believe that she is one of us?" As Skypaw closed her eyes she could hear the two cats talking again.

"I have no doubt, she has Whiteflower's pelt, and I noticed the… you know, on her shoulders," replied Nightwing. Skypaw stiffened when she recalled how much pain she had felt at the moment Redflower had pried off her wings.

"What happened to Whiteflower, is truly a tragedy that we best not forget," meowed the golden she-cat. "I do not want Skypaw to suffer because of what happened to her."

Skypaw could easily feel the tension building in the den. Clearly Whiteflower wasn't an easy subject. She wondered for a moment what had happened to Whiteflower. But as she thought of the she-cat, her mind became hazy, and soon she drifted off to blissful sleep.

AN: So, what did ya think? It was a couple of days since I wrote this chapter, so I had to look through and make sure I didn't make any mistakes. Hopefully I didn't overlook anything. By the way, I recommend you listen to Death and All His Friends by Coldplay... I'm not sure why but it fits this chapter XD

Lightclaw's Shadow - I'm glad you're glad :P Yeah, poor Skypaw has definitely seen the worst of them. And I think you'll find out in this chapter if not the next one. I like to build up suspense before giving out any names ;)

Leafdragon117 - It's okay, you're more than allowed to in this instance :P Yeah, for some reason torturing characters nowadays seems to be a popular thing. I think it just builds up a better story plot or something... And you were partially right about those cats :)

Foreststar of WindClan - lol I don't blame you. Most of CaveClan would be on the top if that were the case. And yeah, those four can stay on the top if you want. They deserve it for what they did.

Nightfrost-of-ShadowClan - It's okay, I understand your anger ;) You never know, she might meet that someone in the new Clan... or maybe even in the old one XD I'm just chalk-full of surprises!

Mermaid1108 - You never know... you'll never know :P

JaybatsuMoonbane - Thank you, I'm glad you're enjoying it so far!